When I said I would kill the Demon King, he showed an intense reaction.
<H-how... how dare you speak such blasphemous words! Killing the Demon King! What in the world... what insolent words are these!>
He seemed utterly shocked.
<...Do you truly not know how great and terrifying the Demon King is! He is the master of this Demon King's Tower and everything that exists within it!>
"Well... I guess he'd be strong."
<Then please retract those words! You must beg for forgiveness immediately!>
I looked down at him quietly.
"But... you're really funny. Why are you worried about me? I'm trying to steal the treasure you're guarding."
He couldn't answer easily.
After a long silence, he finally said this.
<I would prefer you not take the treasure... but at the same time, I don't wish for you to be annihilated by the Demon King.>
I was dumbfounded.
I decided to stop caring about his psychological state. I couldn't understand it well.
Instead, I asked a different question.
"Have you ever even seen the Demon King?"
<I have not.>
"Then why are you so afraid?"
The Treasure Keeper answered, gasping for breath.
<Because the Demon King is everywhere in this tower! It's not too late yet. Please take this opportunity while he's showing mercy...!>
I burst out laughing.
"Everywhere?"
<Yes! The Demon King is always watching over us like that!>
"Hey, is the Demon King some kind of god? Who tricked you again?"
<I wasn't tricked! When I first took this post, the Legion Commander clearly told me so!>
"Legion Commander? Then you were tricked by that guy."
I continued speaking to enlighten him.
"He just said that to make you guard this place well, but what fool would believe it literally?"
<......>
"You've been deceived for 500 years. And now I understand. The reason you came to like these gold coins you can't even use must also be because you were brainwashed."
I kept going.
"For someone as naive as you, there are plenty of things outside the tower that you'd like."
<...>
I fixed my gaze beyond his disheveled hair.
"I'll kill the Demon King and set you free."
The Treasure Keeper answered.
<That cannot be. I absolutely cannot allow you to challenge the Demon King.>
"......"
It was ridiculous.
He was opposing my confrontation with the Demon King more than the opening of that golden chest.
He must have already given up on the chest.
Because now it was only a matter of time before the chest opened.
I continued digging through the gold coins as I spoke.
"Anyway, I'm definitely going up. To do that, I need what's inside the golden chest."
<...Do you know what's inside the golden chest?>
"No? But it's obviously something amazing, right? It's in such a big chest."
After I finished speaking, he fell silent.
I didn't bother asking what was inside the golden chest either. I would check soon enough.
I continued digging through the pile of gold coins.
Time passed in this state.
The Treasure Keeper no longer tried to dissuade me.
He remained silent until his next words.
I didn't know what thought process occurred in between.
<...You may stop now.>
"Why?"
<I will help you.>
"...Really?"
<Yes. Since I've become unable to use waves, I will tell you the locations of the locks.>
"Thanks... for saving me time."
I thought that when I really defeated the Demon King later, I should free this guy first.
The Treasure Keeper laboriously raised his remaining arm.
He pointed to the locations of the locks buried in the pile of gold coins.
I picked up all the keys and went to the places he told me.
One lock I hadn't found yet was included.
Click.
I opened the first lock.
Click.
The second.
And.
The third.
The moment the latch of the last lock twisted.
Click-!
Rummmble-!
The golden chest that had filled the back wall of the cavity began to vibrate.
A gap opened and the lid slowly opened.
"Finally..."
I swallowed my dry saliva and approached the chest.
Then the Treasure Keeper spoke.
<Before checking the chest, please collect the gold coins first.>
"Huh?"
<The gold coins here... would you please take them all first?>
"Why do I need to do that? Is there some kind of order?"
<Yes. If you take the contents of the golden chest and the energy leaks out... the surrounding gold coins will turn into stone when touched by that magic power.>
"Really...?"
<I don't want my precious gold coins to turn into stones... Will you grant my wish?>
'Does he think it's better for me to take them...'
I thought that and decided to comply.
"Alright."
<Thank you...>
He didn't seem to be lying.
Since I was manipulating his blood flow, I could roughly tell his emotional state.
If he had just deceived me, he should have felt some joy, but his blood flow actually slowed down.
He was definitely resigned.
First, I turned away from the chest and reached out toward the pile of gold coins.
I activated my inventory.
[You have acquired Gold.]
[You have acquired Gold.]
[You have acquired Gold.]
[You have acquired Gold.]
It took quite a long time because of the vast amount.
And also because I could only use one hand.
[You have acquired Gold.]
[You have acquired Gold.]
In the midst of this repetitive task, I voiced a thought that suddenly occurred to me.
"Maybe we can travel together."
<Pardon?>
"When you die, I'll make you into an undead. Then your consciousness might dwell in my undead."
I didn't know exactly what the consciousness of an undead was after resurrection.
But you never know.
His current consciousness might transfer to the undead.
However.
<Yes...I understand.>
His answer was lukewarm.
"What, you don't like me either? If you're angry, at least curse at me? Or do you not trust me? I can use necromancy. You were fooled about everything else, so why can't you believe this?"
<...Please continue taking the gold coins for now.>
For some reason, he was deflecting like that.
Clink. Clatter.
How much time had passed?
The hologram window's balance finally pointed to 8.1 billion Gold.
The pile of gold coins that had formed a mountain had completely disappeared.
"Wow... I got all of this..."
The floor where the golden glow had receded was empty marble.
Then the Treasure Keeper gestured to me.
<There's still one left.>
He was holding the last gold coin and offering it to me.
And he said this.
<Now you will believe.>
"Believe what?"
<I'm glad I was able to tell you.>
An echo reverberated through the cavity where the pile of gold coins had disappeared.
"What are you talking about?"
<You seemed unable to believe until you saw it directly. I had no choice but to choose this method.>
"Tell me what?"
<Thank you for being my friend.>
"Huh?"
<I'm happy I could be of help.>
The conversation was one-sided.
The Treasure Keeper didn't seem to intend to answer my questions.
<The Demon King is everywhere. So please abandon your reckless thoughts.>
That was the last.
The Treasure Keeper flicked the last gold coin and threw it to me.
The moment that gold coin entered my inventory.
The blood flow I had been manipulating in the Treasure Keeper was cut off.
That was the first thing I felt.
And immediately after.
The scene before my eyes had changed.
Above the Treasure Keeper.
A hand that extended from the ceiling and pressed down on the floor had appeared.
"Uh."
It was a demon's pitch-black hand.
The Treasure Keeper's body was crushed beneath that palm.
It couldn't have been more sudden.
I hadn't blinked.
I hadn't looked away.
I hadn't spaced out.
Therefore, it was accurate to say it "appeared."
It was like watching the future 5 seconds ahead being played out.
'...'
I blankly raised my gaze upward.
Where the wrist connected.
The very moment I looked at the hole in the ceiling.
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The roar only now struck my ears.
RUMMMMMMMBLE-!!!!!!
The vibration was only now being felt.
The debris from the pierced ceiling fell belatedly.
"......"
I was at a loss for words.
It was truly overwhelming.
It was a scene where cause chased effect.
'Was this what he wanted to show me...'
The Treasure Keeper seemed to have deliberately abandoned his role and received punishment.
To make me give up, to show me how powerful the Demon King was.
But it was still difficult.
- The Demon King is always watching over us.
How far should I take these words?
Was it really true that the Demon King was everywhere?
It was nothing short of eerie.
...No.
That was obvious enough to be unsurprising.
It was ridiculous.
Why did I think those words were scary, even for a moment?
[You have won the duel with the master of the floor and become the master of this floor.]
[Promotion reward 9,900G acquired!]
[You have acquired a large amount of experience.]
[Level up! 111Lv -> 112Lv]
[Level up! 112Lv -> 113Lv]
...
...
...
[Level up! 119Lv -> 120Lv]
What I was doing.
Which floor I had climbed to.
How much I had earned.
What level I had become.
I had never not been monitored from the beginning.