Gamers of the Underworld

“Tsk, tsk, Lord Sherlock, your personal love life is in a mess. You accepted Evelynn’s date invitation. If Evelynn thinks you’re interested in her, then it’ll be interesting!” Bru said emotionally, but Sherlock didn’t share Bru’s thoughts.

“Dating? Didn’t Evelynn say that I’m too busy, so she wants me to relax and watch the performance?”

“Er, that Succubus said that, but didn’t you see her intention? Most likely, she likes you!”

“How did I cause such misunderstandings? You think I’m popular with women?” Sherlock asked frankly.

“What if Evelynn expresses her feelings?” Bru asked directly.

Sherlock said, “I’ll decline. It’s inconceivable for me to fall in love. The most important thing is that I don’t have the prerequisites.”

“Good, since Lord Sherlock is insistent…” Bru had given up trying to persuade him.

Sherlock said, “I accepted her invitation because she’s sponging off the Dungeon, and I would like to get back some benefits.”

“Wait, Lord Sherlock, is that what you were thinking? You’re indeed a superior Devil…”

Sherlock was unaffected by Bru’s words, and he said, “The main thing is the drama itself.”

Sherlock picked up the ticket with the words, “The Great Devil—Michelangelo” on it.

“Er… it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Bru was dumbfounded, unable to see any problem with the performance. Sherlock pointed to the label, which showed that the main actor was someone called Morgan.

“This Morgan…”

“He’s the second successor to Eternal Fire,” said Sherlock. “He’s interested in drama performance. He followed the drama troupe to Winterfell and is performing during his visit.”

“Tsk, what a bummer for a successor. Do you think that Morgan is the one that they arranged to plot against you?”

Bru thought for a while and agreed.

“Hmm, it’s highly possible. You sent Andrew to prison. If Morgan is Andrew’s brother and they are close, it’s likely that he’s here for revenge!”

“I think it’s important for me to watch the performance in order to understand the situation.”

Sherlock browsed the forum and smiled.

“Isn’t it interesting?”

…

In a small stone room, in front of a standing mirror, Succubus Evelynn wore a tutu skirt and posed here and there. However, she wasn’t satisfied with what she saw and muttered, “Is it a bit too childish for me? Lord Sherlock will think I’m acting like a kid. No, no, I can’t wear this.”

Evelynn shook her head and opened her closet. Then, she took out a long blue dress from her small collection of clothes and placed it on her body.

“Is this dress good? Wait, didn’t I just try it on?”

Evelynn looked at her closet. She had tried all of the clothes on once.

Her clothes were limited since she spent most of her salary on her basic necessities like rent, management fees, and living expenses. When she stayed in Sherlock’s Dungeon, she didn’t have to pay expenses, and the food and lodging were provided by Eternal Kingdom, but she didn’t have a salary.

Without any savings, she couldn’t buy any clothes. Moreover, she had been wearing work uniforms, so she didn’t have a lot of clothes.

Evelynn was feeling regretful. She didn’t have a decent dress for her date with Sherlock.

“Dong, dong, dong.”

While she was deliberating on her clothes, she heard knocking at her door and was given a fright. She turned her head and asked, “Who is it?”

“Miss Evelynn, it’s me, Brainiac.”

It was the voice of Brainiac.

“What, what’s the matter?” Evelynn was taken aback and asked nervously.

“I’m here for the Adventurer’s Guild name list.”

Evelynn remembered that she had mistakenly brought home the name list, which should have been kept at the Adventurer’s Guild. She was thinking about the date all the time.

Date? No, no, no, it wasn’t a date! To express her gratitude to Lord Sherlock for taking care of her, she scrimped and saved to buy two drama performance tickets for them to relax. It wasn’t healthy to sit in front of the Mana Device called a computer. It was good to go out and take a breather. It would definitely be beneficial to Sherlock’s health!

But what about the clothes? She was vexed by the clothes not because it was a date but to show Lord Sherlock proper respect. He was a Dungeon Lord, after all. She couldn’t wear clothes that were inappropriate for the occasion. She had to be prudent.

She didn’t have money to buy new clothes, so she could only make some modifications to her current stash. However, she wasn’t a seamstress. Should she impose on the Gnomes? They seemed talented in sewing. When they visited Winterfell, they created the Eternal Kingdom flag…

No, no, no, if she asked them for help, would they not know about the date? It would be embarrassing…

“Dong, dong, dong.”

Brainiac knocked on the door and asked, bewildered, “Miss Evelynn?”

“Ah! Apologies! Apologies!”

Evelynn opened the door in a hurry, forgetting she was wearing the kiddish tutu skirt.

Brainiac stood without emotion at the door while he gazed at Evelynn, who panicked.

“That… I’m not trying out the clothes. I’m going with Lord Sherlock on a date, ah, no! We’re just watching a drama performance…”

Brainiac looked at Evelynn panicking, but he was unmoved. He said without emotion, “I understand, but can you give me the name list? I need it for registration.”

“Apologies, please wait for a while.”

Evelynn bowed to Brainiac and walked into the house. She grabbed the name list from the table and handed it to Brainiac.

“Thank you.”

Brainiac nodded and left without looking back.

“Ai!”

But Evelynn’s gasp of surprise made Brainiac stop and turn back.

“What’s the matter?”

“No, it’s not this problem. It’s because… Lord Sherlock and I are going to watch a drama performance. Lord Brainiac, it seems…”

Evelynn said in a probing tone, and Brainiac quickly replied, “Considering Miss Evelynn’s contribution versus your expenses, I’m not surprised you’re inviting Lord Sherlock to a show. But Miss Evelynn, you have to reconsider your clothing. You have to show respect to the Dungeon Lord. This dress isn’t suitable for your age.”

“That’s brutal…”

Evelynn was devastated by Brainiac’s words, and she went into a daze.

“Then, farewell.”

Brainiac turned to leave, and he had no intention of turning back.

Though Brainiac had left, the conversation had been overheard by a group of Goblins, Gnomes, and Houndhead Men. Though they couldn’t do strange things like steal the NPCs’ clothes, get into their houses by scaling the windows, or do weird things when the NPCs were sleeping, they could wait by the side for Strange Encounter Missions.

Though they might not be squatting down and waiting, passing by or stalking Brainiac was a common occurrence.

The information from Brainiac and Evelynn’s conversation was more than enough.

“Gosh! Sherlie and Evelynn are dating?”

“The game official is giving us love nuggets, I…”

“Aren’t Sherlie and Brainiac in a relationship? Why is Brainiac so calm? Is he planning to kill Evelynn?”

“Tsk, such a conservatively dressed Succubus is finally dating?”

“I don’t want to watch the Plot of NPCs dating! I want to see Winterfell attacked and warriors of Eternal Kingdom descending from the Heavens! I want to save the world!”

“Don’t worry, Evelynn, I graduated as a seamstress. Even the Winterfell teacher praised my workmanship. I’ll take care of your dress for the date!”

“Let’s duel, Evelynn! Sherlie’s mine!”

“Waaaaah—!”