Chapter 94: A New Side Of Kaelira

Chapter 94: Chapter 94: A New Side Of Kaelira

Before Ragnar could answer, Veyra turned her gaze toward Kaelira, who was still standing quietly beside him.

"Of course, Kaelira is welcome to join us as well. In fact, I insist! You two have been swinging swords at each other for so long that you must be exhausted. Wouldn’t it be nice to wash away the sweat and relax together? We could even talk about your little sparring date while we’re there."

Kaelira’s shoulders stiffened.

The faint blush that had only just begun to fade immediately returned to her cheeks, spreading across her face as Veyra deliberately emphasized the words sparring date.

She was perfectly comfortable exchanging blows with powerful enemies, and the thought of facing a monster several times her size would hardly have made her hesitate. Yet when it came to this sort of teasing, she seemed to lose every ounce of her usual composure.

"Veyra, please stop saying such things!" Kaelira protested, turning her face away. "There was nothing of the sort. My lord merely wanted to test the strength of his newly acquired skills, and I was simply assisting him with his training. That is all!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Veyra placed a hand against her cheek, pretending to consider the explanation. "Then you certainly don’t mind joining us for a bath, do you? After all, if there is nothing between you, there shouldn’t be anything embarrassing about spending time together."

"T-That has nothing to do with it!"

Ragnar watched the exchange for a few seconds before finally letting out a weary sigh.

"Veyra, stop teasing Kaelira."

Veyra turned toward him with an innocent expression. "But, my lord, I’m only inviting her to relax with us. Is that really so terrible? Besides, she looks adorable when she gets embarrassed. I can’t believe there’s this kind of side of her, so how could I possibly pass up such a wonderful opportunity?"

"That doesn’t mean you should keep pushing her."

Ragnar’s tone wasn’t particularly harsh, but it was enough to make Veyra realize that he wasn’t going to let her continue indefinitely. She puffed out her cheeks in a small pout, clearly dissatisfied that her master had interrupted her fun.

"Fine, fine. I won’t tease her anymore," she said, although the mischievous glimmer in her eyes suggested that she wasn’t entirely sincere. She then turned back toward Ragnar, her expression quickly brightening again. "In that case, my lord, shall we go to the bathhouse together? We haven’t had much time to relax lately, and I think it would be nice to spend some time with you."

Ragnar looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"Not this time. I’ll take a bath alone."

Hearing the firm answer, Veyra could only pout harder. She knew her lord well enough to understand that continuing to argue would accomplish nothing. Ragnar wasn’t the sort of person who would suddenly change his mind just because she acted cute, no matter how much she wished otherwise.

"Fine. I’ll stop," she finally muttered, lowering her head in defeat. However, the moment Ragnar turned away, she glanced at his retreating figure with a dissatisfied look. "Honestly, my lord never changes his mind once he’s decided something. How troublesome."

Kaelira, who had remained quiet throughout their exchange, finally relaxed. She had been worried that Veyra would continue dragging her into the conversation, and she was relieved that Ragnar had put an end to the teasing before things became even more embarrassing.

Veyra noticed the change in her expression and turned toward her with a small smile.

"Well, since our lord doesn’t want my company, I suppose I’ll have to find something else to do. What about you, Kaelira? Would you like to accompany me to the bathhouse?"

Kaelira immediately answered. "I appreciate the invitation, but I think I’ll return to my duties for now."

----

Meanwhile, Ragnar had already arrived at the bathhouse.

Unlike the ordinary bathing rooms found in human settlements, the facility inside his dungeon had been constructed to accommodate its enormous master.

The bathing pool was spacious enough for his four-meter-tall body, and the surrounding stone walls had been reinforced to withstand the weight and strength of the dungeon’s inhabitants.

Warm water filled the pool, releasing a gentle mist that drifted toward the ceiling and softened the harsh appearance of the dark stone.

Ragnar removed his armor and placed his greatsword within easy reach before lowering himself into the water. The moment the warm water surrounded his body, he released a deep, satisfied breath and leaned back against the edge of the pool.

"Ah, this is much better."

For a while, he simply enjoyed the silence. Without Veyra trying to persuade him to do something, Kaelira waiting for his next command, or the system notifications constantly demanding his attention, he finally had a chance to clear his head. The tension accumulated from his recent training gradually faded, and his thoughts turned toward the future of his dungeon.

Although the dungeon had become more dangerous since his arrival, Ragnar knew that his progress was still far from sufficient. His recent purchases had strengthened him considerably, but the Soul Points required for further improvements remained a serious obstacle.

Powerful skills, additional monsters, and dungeon upgrades all demanded resources, and he couldn’t afford to spend everything he earned without considering what he might need later.

At present, most of his Soul Points came from adventurers entering his dungeon from Hetin Town. Their numbers fluctuated from day to day, but the dungeon had begun attracting a steady trickle of challengers.

The problem was that he couldn’t rely on Hetin Town forever.

Ragnar opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, his expression growing thoughtful.

"The Soul Points I’m receiving from Hetin Town are enough to keep things moving, but the amount is still too small. At this rate, it’ll take quite a while before I can afford another major upgrade."

If he wanted to attract more adventurers and earn Soul Points at a faster rate, he would eventually need to expand his operations.

That brought him to another problem.

"So far, the only adventurer I’ve seen who came from another city or town was that human who reached the second floor."