The Strongest Curse Master

"Free food? Can you expand on that?" Dee3 asked. She was about to reject Ace's offer, but the mention of free food stopped her in her tracks. With her particular curse skill set, she wasn't worried about finding a place to stay, but starving to death was a real concern.

Ace was a little surprised to see her even considering the offer. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he quickly elaborated, "Twenty-four/seven food service. Anything you want."

"Does that include beverages?" Dee3 asked, hesitant to directly ask an underage kid if alcohol would be available.

"Yes, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Food, snacks, beverages, supplements—if it exists, we'll get it for you," Ace promised without hesitation.

He could think of countless ways a senior curse scientist, one of the actual founders of the country's Curse Gadget Department, could be useful to him. Sure, Dee3 didn't seem too interested in designing new curse gadgets anymore, given how things ended between her and the government, but maybe she wouldn't mind teaching a few of his eager toy summons.

The girls already had the Cyclops' Curse Crafter legacy to learn from, but Ace figured they wouldn't mind if he added curse gadgets to their curriculum. Dame Wasp, in particular, already seemed to be a fan of Dee3—probably because their tragic pasts mirrored each other. Both were experimented on, used, and were now fugitives from powerful organizations. So it didn't surprise Ace that Dame Wasp sympathized with her.

"Can I get free food without checking in? I don't need a place to stay—I have a dungeon," Dee3 asked, having already made up her mind to check out the dream-like place Ace had spoken of.

"That works too. You're the customer, and customers are gods. We don't ask gods to pay—only to bless us with their infinite wisdom and guidance," Ace replied cryptically, enjoying the moment, knowing he truly had Dee3 eating out of the palm of his hand this time.

"Alright, I'll follow you around for a while, but if it doesn't work out for me, I'm leaving," Dee3 warned, making it clear she wasn't making any long-term commitments.

"Great, we have a deal," Ace agreed.

Yes, he intended to take advantage of her naivety and knowledge, but he never planned to control her or take her hostage. That went against his principles. Still, he didn't feel guilty about benefiting from her trust, because if he didn't, someone else would, and that someone might not be as generous or well-intentioned as him.

Suddenly, the wall of the tunnel before him, split open into a door, and a bright light spilled out, filling the passage. Ace squinted against the glare, only to hear Dee3's calm invitation from within, "Come in."

As he stepped through the door, Ace was stunned—not just by what greeted him, but by Dee3's utter lack of caution and how easily he had persuaded her. Even he couldn't quite believe what had just happened. He found himself wondering how someone so gullible had managed to see through the government's lies. There was definitely a story behind that.

"Welcome to my dungeon. It's been a decade since someone last visited it. It's bigger now—and a lot more lively," Dee3 greeted, snapping Ace out of his thoughts as he stood stunned at the entrance.

His eyes were forced to take in the surreal sight before him—an armored platinum zoo housed deep within her dungeon. Every kind of wild animal imaginable was present, all encased in glistening platinum armor. They appeared to ignore him, going about their own business, but Ace could feel their eyes on him, keen and alert. One wrong move, and they'd tear him apart. Especially the armored platinum elephant—it wasn't even pretending to mind its own business like the others, and glaring at him, ready to blow its deadly trumpet.

Despite the magical sight before him, the first question that came to Ace's mind was, "Dee3, please tell me they eat normal food and not curse cores." Because if these armored platinum creatures fed on curse cores, then Dee3's tuition fee might be far higher than he had bargained for.

"They're cyborgs—of course they eat both, silly," Dee3 answered casually. But then, realizing Ace's offer of free food might not have included her 'cuties,' she quickly asked, "Wait, the free food—does it extend to cyborgs too?"

"It doesn't," Ace admitted, "but for you, we can figure something out later." This was the perfect opening for him to bring up the idea of Dee3 earning her keep. The compensation would be generous, of course.

He couldn't help but wonder how the Army and the C.I.B. hadn't noticed such a large portion of their supply vanishing regularly. Maybe someone on the inside was helping cover for her.

"By the way, how did you manage to gather so many cyborg animals?" Ace asked, not giving her a moment to overthink what he'd just said.

"They're all animals that managed to survive the government's experiments but failed to produce the expected results. Most were on their last breath. I rescued them—it was the only compensation I accepted for serving the government. Even after I stopped working for them, I continued to rescue the animals they had abandoned secretly. In recent years, animal and clone experiments seem to have decreased considerably. Hopefully, they'll stop altogether one day," Dee3 explained, her voice tinged with an unexplainable sadness.

Seeing her like this, the animals approached to cheer her up. Meanwhile, the elephant kept its unblinking gaze fixed on Ace, its trunk raised and ready.

Ace finally understood why Dee3 had never left Base Wulfric. But he couldn't help but wonder why there weren't any human clones among those she'd rescued.

Noticing her elephant show a keen interest in Ace, Dee3 smiled warmly and introduced, "This adorable one is Thunder, the fastest elephant alive."

"Trumpet!" the elephant bellowed at Ace, a clear warning.

Ace got the message, but Dee3 seemed to mistake the blast for a warm greeting. She was clearly blinded by her love for the creature.