My Dungeon Life: Rise of the Slave Harem

“You won’t touch her!”

As the nearby paladins reached for their swords, and the clueless Osterian stood there holding a bound Calypso, I reached out without thinking, ripped her from the girl’s arms, and then pulled her against me, while brandishing Alysia defensively. Reacting to my words, Cici and Chance jumped in front of me, which in turn caused the paladins who were ready to charge on Anne’s order to hesitate. They would happily cut me down, but with those two in the way, they could no longer decide.

“You may still have a chance for your soul, but this woman’s soul is shrouded in darkness.” Anne declared. “She should be destroyed immediately.”

I had almost forgotten that the church had a strong reaction against miasmic creatures. Destroying dungeons was considered their top priority, although that priority was filled with hypocrisy. First off, their entire order formed because they were invaders that came from a dungeon, and they exploited their ability to resurrect to push back the original inhabitants. Secondly, they constantly made exceptions, such as Dirage Labyrinth, the Mirror Labyrinth, and even this King’s Selection dungeon in the castle.

I was pretty certain that Calypso wasn’t a miasmic creature though. She wasn’t a god soul either. Instead, she was someone who once had a mana soul, but had spent so much time using miasmic magic and living in dungeons that her soul had become completely dark. In most people, this would have caused a person to lose their free will and become little more than a monster controlled by a dungeon, but Calypso had managed to remain sane. That last part was a bit questionable.

“What is the meaning of this?” Eliana had heard the commotion and came out on the upper deck.

“This woman should be destroyed!” Anne declared to Eliana, sounding at least slightly like a petulant child tattling to a parent.

“She was the bandit queen who had gathered the bandits on the west and gave Aberis so much trouble,” I explained. “I find it likely she’s also the pirate who has been causing trouble on the east.”

“All the more reason to end her!”

“We need her for information,” I responded. “If she dies, it’ll just mean someone else is in charge. She can give us their locations, their numbers, and their goals. She’s too valuable alive.”

“Oh, Deek, I didn’t know you cared,” Calypso smirked, looking up at me with pursed lips.

Eliana frowned while looking at Calypso, who after I had grabbed her, had pressed her body against me, seeming to have no issue acting extremely comfortable snuggly against my chest.

“Deek is right. If she has information, then we need to get it from her.” Eliana announced.

“But…” Anne lifted a finger angrily.

“No buts,” Eliana responded in a voice filled with authority.

I admitted that even I was surprised by her ability to take charge. Could it be that Eliana was a pretty decent princess? At least I was smart enough to know if I ever voiced such words, it would only bring me pain.

“Don’t worry, I’ll personally watch over Calypso.” I declared.

Anne looked between Eliana and me, and after a moment gave a sniff, which was as much acceptance as she would give. At least the paladins were happy putting their weapons away.

“Deek, my love, perhaps I could get used to this.” Calypso lifted a long-lacquered fingernail and then stroked it down my chest.

“Aren’t you supposed to have your hands tied?” I frowned.

“Oops.” She put her hand back down, and when she lifted them again, the restraints were still in place.

Oh… this was going to go just fine…