## Chapter 752 – Paladin Kim Kat

We talked about such things as we got on the elevator.

I was definitely aware that, with the power source gone, it could suddenly drop. Of course, Risha thought the same thing, and patted her chest, telling me not to worry.

As expected of the witch.

ㅡGreeee.

We arrived on the 8th basement floor without any problems. Let’s go straight up. After having Hilde detect any demons, we retraced our steps.

Of course, there were no attacks from the golems.

And since it was the same way we came, we were able to return even faster than before.

“Hmm.”

Is the backup power supply quite substantial?

ㅡGreeee.
ㅡGreeeeee.

The golems were still moving.

Perhaps when the remaining power of Belial runs out, they will all stop working like electronic devices that have been turned off. Then every Tom, Dick, and Harry will jump in to mine the cores.

Then the value of the cores will plummet.

We need to take as much as we can and dispose of it quickly. Apparently, there are quite a few people in that city who are buying cores these days.

We can sell them all there and leave the city.

“But Katt-nim, are we just going to leave the golems here? If we take them out as we go up from here, we could get more cores.”
“No. We have to ignore the ones here.”
“Why?”

We need to be a little careful.

Right now, the exploration team has only made it to the 4th floor. If the energy of this dungeon disappears, people will be able to come down to the 8th floor right away.

But what if they find golems that have already been destroyed there?

It would feel suspicious.

Of course, the exploration team might not be organized and could just come in willy-nilly, but that might not be the case. So, we didn’t really touch any golems or monsters on the way here.

We can destroy plenty when we get to the 4th floor anyway. We can just go there and destroy them to our heart’s content, so let’s just be a little careful.

“The exploration team has only made it to the 4th floor. And it’s too suspicious that we went down to the 8th floor in an instant, took the elevator, and killed the Great Demon. There’s no need to advertise that to anyone.”
“Uh-huh… Ah. I see.”

Hilde nodded.

Claudie, Karin, Liz, Risha, and Winia already seemed to know. Anyway, we minimized our rest time and made our way up to the 4th floor.

When we were being guided by the golems, it was so slow.

We got up here faster than I thought.

Well, thanks to Hilde’s detection magic, it was super easy to solve. While others were struggling to catch golems, we had a free pass.

“Hilde, from here on out, you’ll have to transform into a human.”
“Yes, yes. I know that.”
“And now there’s no need to leave the golems alone.”
“I will.”

Then let’s make a killing here and leave.

“Golems are all dead.”

* * *

We did encounter other exploration teams on the 4th floor, but since it was a fairly large, complex, and dangerous place, we didn’t meet that many.

I was hoping we might see the Royal Knights again, but we couldn’t find them, either because they were making slow progress.

ㅡClang!
ㅡSwish!

We destroyed every golem we encountered and extracted its core.

As Risha requested, we also took a large number of what appeared to be the core components and stuffed them into our backpacks as much as we could.

These golems are the product of magical engineering.

A very straightforward technology, judging by the name. Simply put, it’s a concept that combines magic and science. That’s how golems are made.

Naturally, the precision parts that make up such golems are valuable.

But we can’t take them all because of the weight, and the mages are undervaluing the golem remains, using the cores as bait, so they’re quite cheap.

We could just hand them over to the blacksmith for the iron value, but the insides are quite rusty. Some aren’t, but anyway, we can’t take them all, and the value is unclear.

Since we’re just going to take the expensive cores, sell them quickly, and leave the city, we decided not to worry about it.

“How much is all this worth?”
“It looks like it’ll be worth quite a bit.”

We collected about a few dozen cores like that.

Karin and Liz also looked at the shimmering cores with shining eyes. If we sell all this, we won’t have to worry about money for a while.

It was literally a bonanza for us.

The Royal Knights seemed to be struggling, but these golems were no match for us in the first place. In that way, we took as many cores as we could and came out of the dungeon.

“Ugh, this is still a bit tiring.”

Looking at the time, it was almost morning.
Now we have to go back and rest… and think about what to do.

“But there’s no chaos?”
“Hehehe, I know, right?”

As Winia said, the dungeon entrance was relatively calm. It was a bit noisy, but not the pandemonium that had unfolded when we first entered.

“It’s because there’s no one blocking the way. Look. Since people can enter freely, there’s no fighting or anything.”

What was it, the Steel Lion Mercenary Corps?

The hellscape that had unfolded here was only because those bastards were controlling the entrance. Now that those guys are all dead, it’s only natural that it’s become peaceful.

“It’s all thanks to Katt-nim establishing order!”
“No, Risha did it all.”

I walked leisurely.

The smell wasn’t bad. It looked like they had cleaned up the piles of corpses at least somewhat. As the corpses scattered all over the place disappeared, the crime rate naturally decreased, and even pickpockets became invisible.

When pickpockets disappear, there are no more corpses.

This is the broken window theory, which is analogous to the fact that crime rates increase when windows are broken. Accidental crimes occur more frequently in places where corpses are left unattended.

“Ugh… I want to take a shower. When we get to the inn, let’s just rest until tomorrow. We’ve got plenty of cores anyway, so we don’t have to worry about money.”

Anyway, as we were walking, Liz stretched and said.

“We should. Let’s go in and rest.”

Let’s rest for a bit and then go back.

“But let’s sell the cores first.”

We have to sell them all before they plummet.

“And when we sell our cores, we should split up and sell them. If we sell them all at once, they might think it’s strange.”
“Ah. We should do that. Everyone, put your bags down. Let’s divide them up and put them in.”

Karin said that.

“Not here. Let’s get to the inn first.”
“Well, I guess.”

We can go back, rest for a bit, divide up the cores, and sell them. We don’t know when the dungeon will stop operating. It’s better to sell them as soon as possible.

We went back to the city like that.

“Hehehe, everyone worked hard. But it was a good experience, right? Killing a Great Demon.”
“Well, it was sealed, though.”

Hilde responded to Claudie’s words. They both looked quite refreshed. Hilde must be the happiest of all. I want to rest a bit and play with that body.

“I didn’t do anything… I’m very sorry.”

Ari looked a little depressed.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not a big deal.”
“Still…”

I immediately put my hand on Ari’s shoulder. Well, there are days like this. Last time, she did a great job of finding the village in the forest.

If she rests well and calms her mind, she’ll be fine.

* * *

After securing a room at the inn, we immediately divided up the cores and went out one by one to sell them here and there.

Fortunately, there were many groups of mages who were interested in the golem cores, and there were many others who wanted the cores besides them, so we were able to sell them all at a high price.

We made a total of about 4 gold just from selling the cores. It feels like we’re making too much money too easily these days. But it can’t be helped. Objectively speaking, the golems were quite strong, so there weren’t many cores available.

It’s only natural that they’re expensive.

Anyway, after finishing the sale of the cores, we took a really good bath and ate everything we could to relieve the fatigue in our bodies. The room we rented with extra money was comfortable, so there were no particular problems.

“Keuhheuh, but if the dungeon really stops operating, everyone’s going to go crazy, right?”

Karin, who was dressed comfortably, said as she sat on the bed.

Her tone seemed quite cheerful.

“Really, Karin. Please have a kind heart. Don’t you feel sorry for the mages who bought the cores at a high price?”
“Sorry? That’s how the world is.”
“That’s true, but…”

The moment the dungeon stops operating, a hellscape will unfold. Everyone will go deep inside to tear off the cores of the stopped golems, and if it becomes so saturated, murders will inevitably occur.

But even if they go through that ordeal, the value of the cores will have already plummeted.

It’s a natural law that the price will drop when there’s a lot of supply and a lot of sellers.

What if you take them to another area and sell them?

Well.

With so many bandits around, will they be able to get there properly?

Anyway, we decided to rest leisurely before leaving. There’s no need to rush. We’ve made a lot of money and even killed a Great Demon, so rest is important.

“Hey, you bastards. How have you been?”

I came out to check on the carriage and Illyong and Ilyong that I had left in their care. Fortunately, they were doing very well, as I had paid well. Looking at them, the employees were properly feeding and watering the horses and cockatrices.

There were also guys cleaning them, so paying money is worth it.

If I had paid extra and they were being managed like crap, I would have brought the person in charge and fed them to Illyong.

ㅡKrrr.
ㅡGrrr.

Anyway, the two beasts recognized me and rubbed their heads against me. It makes my heart full for no reason. I stroked their muzzles.

“Ah, damn it. You carefree bastards.”

To be honest, I was on the verge of a mental breakdown because I was worried about how to write the report from now on. What should I delete and what should I add?

Killing the Great Demon was definitely a great achievement. If they saw this, all the paladins of the Order would cry and tear their hair out and jump about 3 meters.

But there’s no evidence left.

Andromalius died and left an arm, but Belial just disappeared without a trace. He was absorbed by Vygale and absorbed by Hilde. It’s great, but there’s nothing left besides that.

Anyway, let’s say we killed Belial.

But how far did we explore the dungeon?

Did we kill all the golems, break through in the shortest amount of time, and then come back out?

I know that Saint Kadia trusts me and evaluates me as extremely capable, but this isn’t it.

This is crossing the line.

This time, we were able to proceed entirely because of my women’s destructive force and Hilde’s “demonic” detection magic.

How can I say that as soon as I entered the dungeon, I went down to the 8th floor alone when others were stuck on the 4th floor, then took the elevator and cut off the Great Demon’s head and came back?

There’s no lie like this.
I’d know if there was evidence. But there isn’t, damn it.

And if I had come alone, I would have just killed a few golems and given up. The monsters that were slowly crawling out from the 3rd floor? They were probably unfortunate monsters who were slowly being contaminated by Belial and being mind-controlled.

But I wouldn’t have known that either.

That’s why this time… I honestly don’t know what to do.

“You guys don’t know my heart…”

ㅡGrrr.
ㅡGrrr.

Illyong and Ilyong looked extremely carefree.
I’ll have to feed them well when we get back.

“Hehehe. You bastards.”

Should I just go back and say that I only killed a few golems and gave up the exploration? It’s also a bit much to go straight back to the capital. If the Saint asks, “Why did the Paladin come back so quickly when he didn’t explore at all?” I’ll lose face.

Or should I just play around in this city for a while?

Damn it, besides that, I have to test Hilde’s power or research the enhanced Vygale… I have a mountain of things to do. Honestly, those are higher priorities than the report.

“Ugh.”

After checking on my rides, I went back to the inn.

“Ah! Katt-nim is here!”

Hilde greeted me in her underwear. Her enhanced breasts and hips felt really alluring. I’m still horny, but the fact that they’ve gotten a little bigger is just what I wanted.

But it’s not just Hilde.
There were seven women who were frustrated from working.

Well, for now.

“Come here.”

I took off my clothes.

Let’s think about tomorrow, tomorrow.