S-Class Dungeon's Mistress

Chapter 76

No, it actually stood up. Caladium glanced down. It was still in its early stages, so it was not very noticeable. His right thigh was slightly swollen. Thanks to Adelaide’s fixation on his face, it saved him from being labeled a pervert. However, if he stayed, he might get caught, so it was better to leave immediately.

“Don’t cry because I’m not here, Adela.”

Caladium playfully poked the tip of Adelaide’s nose. In her astonishment, she closed her eyes tightly. Yes, it would be better if she closed her eyes. That way, she wouldn’t look down. Caladium murmured in his mind.

“What do you mean cry!”

Adelaide snorted. She opened her closed eyes and pushed his finger away. As she gazed back at Caladium, he slyly looked away from her. The Skeletons were seen crying.

“You guys take care too.”

“Have a safe trip, Caladi!”

“Yes, I’ll go and come back.”

All the demons gathered and waved to him. Caladium turned around nicely and headed towards his portal. The strides he took were even splendid.

Adelaide bit her lip, thinking she was about to cry. ‘You even said you weren’t going to cry! Why are you crying? He just wants to go home.’ She criticized herself. Even though she knew it was silly, it was difficult for her to bear it.

‘Actually, I depended on Caladi a lot.’

It was then that Adelaide realized. She made up her mind as she looked at the back of the disappearing Caladium.

‘When Caladi comes back, I have to be much better than I am now! I’ll be less annoying in the future!’

Caladium left Greenville Dungeon with everyone except Lisianthus seeing off.

***

“What, why are you here already?”

Despite her strong promise to treat him well, Adelaide did not welcome the return of Caladium. She asked as if she was annoyed, and continued to eat the breakfast she had been eating.

It was because Caladium, who said that he would return after at least a few days, crossed Greenville’s portal in less than a day. She was embarrassed that he had come back so quickly when they all cried and waved their hands to see him off.

“Caladi?”

Adelaide, having swallowed her last piece of toast, rose from her chair and walked towards Caladium. He would normally grumble when Adelaide came to where he was sitting and would ask ‘Why didn’t you welcome me’, but he was strangely quiet.

It was only when she got closer that she could see his face properly. His courageous appearance from yesterday was gone, but his face was full of loneliness and disappointment.

Caladium didn’t answer and only his lips twitched. Did he have an accident? Adelaide looked at him with anxious eyes.

“What happened?”

Adelaide said in a worried tone. He said he was going home to get something, but his hands were empty. Caladium flinched and trembled. The picturesque face quickly contorted.

“No, nothing happened.”

‘How could you say nothing happened…’ Adelaide blinked her eyes.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed something strange. His clothes were the same as the ones he wore yesterday, and behind his tangled hair was a small leaf. His skin was also wrinkled, as if he had not even had time to use his bath magic. Just like a homeless demon.

“You didn’t go home?”

Flinch. Caladium’s large body trembled again.

“What do you mean I didn’t…”

He quickly denied it. However, seeing that the end of his voice was subtly weak and he couldn’t even meet her eyes, it was clear that it was a lie.

“… Caladi, do you not have a house?”

Adelaide asked cautiously.Considering Caladium’s tendency to brag, there was a possibility that his house did not exist.

“No?! It was there before!”

“It was there before… You mean it’s gone now?”

Caladium’s handsome pupils quivered wildly. He was an easy-to-understand demon. Adelaide looked at him with pitying eyes.

Being caught and imprisoned for 100 years by Boraca, losing his home… Caladium had a demonic name, but he’s too weak. But she felt sorry for him rather than pathetic because she was also weak. It was the cheater’s fault, the cheater’s fault.

“It’s okay, Caladi. If you work hard in life, one day you will get it back…!”

‘Can he buy his own house?’ Adelaide questioned her own words. It was not easy to get a land just for yourself in the tough Demon Realm. She would have starved to death on the street if she hadn’t inherited her dungeon as well.

No, Caladium was different. He behaved like a child who owned the world in front of him, but the devil is the devil no matter what. Comparing a devil who was naturally gifted with herself was not possible in the first place. Adelaide did not try to comfort him, but felt embarrassed by the cold reality.

Caladium’s harsh voice broke her thoughts.

“There’s no need to comfort me! ‘Cause I’ll get it back. A month, no, a week is enough!”

Caladium raised his voice and insisted. She didn’t know why the house that had been in good shape suddenly disappeared, and she didn’t know how he would get it back, but Adelaide didn’t bother to ask. If she did that for no reason, it would only hurt his self-esteem. She knew very well how to react to a proud-type like Caladium.

“Yes, Caladi can do it! To the Great Devil of the Red Flame, that’s nothing, nothing!”

“Yes! It’s nothing!”

Unsurprisingly, Caladium’s face brightened immediately. Adelaide drove the momentum and encouraged him, their devil, to go in and rest.

Click. The moment he entered the room and closed the door, the pretentious smile on her face disappeared.

“What the hell is going on? Do you think the house has been stolen?”

Adelaide covered her mouth with her hand and whispered to Lisianthus, who quietly observed the situation. Lisianthus moderately lowered his voice to match hers.

“It seems so. Don’t worry too much, Adele. He’s not a kid, he’ll figure it out on my own.”

“Yes, I need to practice my power more.”

‘He would hate it if I worried more.’ Adelaide shrugged her shoulders and spoke.

“Nothing will probably happen.”

Hap. As soon as she uttered her words, she bit her lip. They were very dangerous words. Even things that would not normally happen could happen if you say ‘nothing will happen’. Her pink eyes trembled with anxiety.

[T/N: I guess like a superstition, say in a hospital, staff usually avoid comments like things are “quiet” because it usually becomes hectic after.]

However, it seemed that her worries were nothing but rain because nothing special happened after a few days. Her demons worked hard to deal with the adventurers and increased the number of kills one by one, and Adelaide often went out to attract more adventurers.

There were only two things that changed, first of all, Bell.

“Adela, give me one more piece of meat.”

Bell said standing up, politely holding his plate with both hands. After absorbing Lisianthus’ magic, Bell grew steadily day by day. Up until recently, he could only speak two or three words, but at some point he began to speak perfect sentences. His pronunciation had improved significantly.

If he looked like a three or four-year-old child when he first transformed into a humanoid, he now looked to be about seven years old. His height was well above Adelaide’s navel, and his limbs had become longer. She felt sad because the baby in her arms seemed to have grown up, but her pride swelled because it meant that he was growing well without lacking anything.

‘By the way, is there an appearance buff in this dungeon?’

Bell’s beauty was outstanding enough to raise such questions. She wondered if the term “handsome boy” existed just for Bell. His dark curly hair shined and glistened, his big eyes gleamed bright red, and his nose and chin lines were unmistakably distinct. The sharp fangs of her baby grew longer.

“Here. Eat a lot, Bell.”

“Thank you, Adela.”

Chu. Bell lightly kissed her on the cheek. Adelaide smiled warmly at that cute expression of gratitude. It felt like her stained soul was being cleansed by Bell’s innocence.

At this point, it was time for someone to grumble. Adelaide turned her gaze away and stared at the sofa. She could not see the devil that used to be attached to the sofa as if they had one body.

This was the second change, the frequent absence of Caladium.

It was after the day he returned with the shocking news that his house had been stolen. He went out quite often, unlike before. When it was his turn, he quickly returned to fight the adventurers, and played with Adelaide in her spare time, but in his free time, he went out of the dungeon.

What he did in his free time was his business, but somehow it didn’t feel right. When he came home with bloodstains on his collar, she let it pass since it didn’t seem like his blood. But when the same thing happened over and over again, she had a bad feeling.

One night, as Caladium had come home late again, Adelaide tried to talk to him in a very cautious tone, as if dealing with a rebellious adolescent.

“Caladi, you seem a bit busy these days…”

Do you beat up demons around? Did you find the one who stole your house?

Adelaide swallowed her questions. ‘Our Caladi’s personality is a bit dirty, but that doesn’t mean he’s bad enough to beat up innocent demons. You can’t misunderstand just by looking at bloodstains! Let’s not doubt!’ She repeated in her mind.

“Uh, a little? Weak things keep bothering me. I’m sorry, just a little bit more and I won’t need to go out anymore.”

‘What are you doing a little more of…?’ Adelaide’s face turned white. She couldn’t help but doubt him.

“By the way, did you wait because you missed me?”

“Until this late hour?” Caladium narrowed his eyes and smiled. He tilted his head and rested his head on Adelaide’s shoulder.

“I miss you so much, Adela.”

His large arms wrapped around her slender waist. To him, who was shooting a romance film alone, Adelaide couldn’t bring up and say that she couldn’t sleep first because she was suspicious of him. All she could do was smile awkwardly and reply “Yes, me too”.

“You have to call me when it’s time to eat energy. You know, right?”

Caladium whispered, gently pressing his lips to her neck.

“Hey! I’m not hungry yet!”

“More than that, it tickles!” Adelaide’s body shook and pushed him away. Tch, Caladium stepped back, clicking his tongue like it was a waste.

“Oh, right. I got some information about that guy from someone I dealt with today.”

“That guy…?”

“You know, what the adventurers said last time. The legend or something.”

Caladium ignored Adelaide’s trembling voice and naturally moved on to the topic.

“I think it’s true. They are looking for a succubus with black hair and pink eyes.”

He swept down her fine hair with a firm hand. ‘If lips won’t do, I want to kiss her here too, but will Adela hate it?’ His forehead wrinkled due to his insidious thoughts.

“Aside from issuing a wanted order to high level adventurers…”

Point. Caladium eventually could no longer stand it and lightly pressed his lips onto her hair. Fortunately, Adelaide did not react.

“I heard he was looking for the succubus himself.”