[ Hmm... Is that really...? I think some of them are fake... ] Vlad responded with doubt.

There were certainly many books that are stored in this large room. At first look, one will mistake that each book was different from another, but with proper inspection, some of them are exactly alike and just copies. There were also some books that are unfinished, books with missing pages, and some that are straight-up books with not a single word written on them.

[ Well, that"s only natural Vlad-san. Books are very expensive; that"s why some people make fake copies of famous books to sell to us, n.o.bles. ]

[ Hmm... Yes, the books I"ve bought in the city, too, are really expensive. ]

( Appraisal... )

Name: "Collected Maps of Legendary Swords"

Age: 241

Cla.s.s: Fake - 1/150 copies

Author: Unkown

Name: "The Tales and Names of All Known Heroes"

Age: 311

Cla.s.s: Original - 1/10 copies

Author - Akira

( That old, huh? A book from 300 years ago... It"s already outdated but it might still be useful. )

As he thought so, Vlad stored the book in his inventory together with the other ones he found interesting.

[ I wonder what is this room about... ] whispered Alicia who out of nowhere went to Vlad"s side.

[ Is doesn"t seem like it has any traps... It"s also not the dungeon boss"s room... ]

( I"ve also been wondering about this since earlier... Who uses this room? What is it for? My only guess is the dungeon boss... )

[ Well, Alicisan, I think we should get going. ]

[ Ah... Right... ] she replied hesitantly.

[ What is it...? ] realizing she still has something she"s wanting to say, Vlad asked her.

[ Well... I was just thinking maybe I could get some of these books... ]

( She"s really fond of books, huh? Well, if this was an anime, she would be the quiet type of girl who always hangs out in the library, reading books. It"s not really surprising she would say that. ) Vlad thought as he looks at Alicia"s appearance -

Silver hair, average height, and a slender figure; quiet yet easy to be angered. Give her some gla.s.ses and she would easily become an eroge character. At least that what Vlad thinks of her.

[ Well, we can always come back to this floor when we finish subjugating the dungeon boss. ]

***

[ Haa!!! ]

An arc of light appeared as Caiden"s swings his large battle axe. Easily, the enemies that were caught up on it were slashed into two parts.

Seeing their numbers cut down to less than the number of their enemies, the monsters fled in defeat.

[ Great! ] Sarah enthusiastically shouted.

[ We"re getting close to Vlad-sama! ]

[ Amazing...! Almost all the enemies we"ve encountered in the past floors are already defeated... Vlad-sama really is amazing...! ]

[ As expected of the master... At this rate, we"ll be able to reach master in no time... ]

The trio expressed their amazement and praise to their master, Vlad Alucard, who"s currently still in a separate area of the dungeon.

[ Really... All of these are high-cla.s.s monsters the guild are afraid of... I can"t believe the three of you are able to fight and defeat many of them... ] Caiden muttered in disbelief.

He had experienced fighting with them for the past few hours and he realized that they"re no ordinary slaves.

[ Well, master-shama trained us. We"ve fought stronger monsters than these, Caiden! ] as if she"s talking to a friend, Lumi casually reach an arm on Caiden"s shoulder and said those words with high confidence.

[ ... ]

( Why is she acting like this...? She"s completely different from her serious state earlier... ) with an awkward and seemingly bothered face, Caiden muttered these words as he looks at the demi-human girl who"s trying to reach and put a hand on his shoulder.

[ Hey, Lumi! Don"t act like that towards Caiden-sama! He"s a hero! ] Sarah, also with a troubled face, retorted to Lumi.

[ Oh...!? Ehe~ So Caiden is a hero...? ] she mutters as her shocked face turns to a smirk.

[ You did not know...? ]

[ No... Because Caiden is my friend! But he"s not my hero, master-sama is! ]

( E-Eh~? )

[ Master-sama always gives me food! He gives me tuna! ]

[ Unn... Master also always gives me my favorite... Lizard and frog meat... ] Nina added still with her seemingly tired voice.

[ ... ] hearing their conversation, Caiden could only stay silent in both shame and confusion.

[ You two! Stop bothering Caiden-sama and focus! ] acting as the leader of the trio, Sarah ordered them.

( Sarah-san... At least she seems normal... )

[ Sarah-san, I just want to ask, how exactly Vlad-san is training you... Honestly... You three seem more experienced in conquering dungeons than me and Alicia. From what I"ve heard, Vlad-san bought you just at least two weeks ago... How come you"re already this experienced...? ]

He asked with both the feeling of shame and disbelief. He was ashamed as some mere slaves are more knowledgable than him, and he was in disbelief how the three of them became so accustomed to each other and their teamwork in just a mere matter of time. It could even be said that their teamwork a much better than Caiden"s and the hero"s party"s own teamwork.

[ Well... I"m sorry Caiden-sama, but we can"t share the information on how Vlad-san trains us... ]

[ Is that so...? Don"t worry, I don"t mind. Maybe I"ll just ask Vlad-san himself next time. ]

[ Thank you for understanding. ] Sarah bowed and replied with respect.

[ Hmm... By the way... It seems your style of fighting is almost identical to that of the knights... no, rather, it almost seemed that you"re accustomed to it... are you perhaps...? ]

[ Yes. I served as a knight in another country before I became a slave. I was also a n.o.ble, but because of the large debt of my parents, it was decided that I was to be sold. ]

[ Sarah-san, your strength is higher than even high ranking knights of this country... I say you serve again as a knight... ]

[ What do you mean by that...? ]

[ I"m saying that we free and buy you back from Vlad-san and make you serve again as a knight, or even better, one of us heroes... ]

Sarah turned silent.

She was a knight. Since she was a kid it was her dream to become someone powerful, not just to prove herself to other people, but to also help them. If she could get the opportunity, she would definitely grab it without hesitation.

Not now she"s being offered a second chance to become a knight again, not to mention, she"s also being offered a position as a hero.

But right now...

[ That is a great offer, Caiden-sama. But the chance was already gone... I"ve already declared both my service and the entirety of myself to Vlad-sama; I would not betray him or leave his side. ]

[ You will be freed from being a slave, are you sure you want to become someone"s property rather than be freed? ]

[ Caiden-sama... After Vlad-sama had bought us from slavery, he also asked us the same thing. ]

[ Huh...? ]

[ He said that he will free us from becoming slaves and he will remove these collars from our neck. ] she said as she grips the slave collar that is on her neck.

[ The-Then!? ]

[ We did not accept. ]

[ ... ] Caiden was dumbfounded from what he had heard.

Becoming free from slavery. Definitely all slaves in the world will say "yes". It was not their choice to become slaves in the first place.

Yet right now, he"s standing beside a slave who chooses to become one rather than to be freed.

[ I don"t know if Vlad-sama had planned it from the start... Giving us the chance to take baths and giving us clothes... Giving us delicious food to eat and a comfortable place to sleep... In just a single day, he was able to get our trust and affection... When we wake up, he immediately asked us if we want to be freed; he said that he will remove our collars and we will get the chance to live our lives normally again. But since the first time we taste the dishes he gave us, we already know our answers. ]

Caiden was stunned. It was the first time Caiden has heard someone do that; to free the slaves they bought with their own coins.

[ Either way, I already made a vow that I will only use my sword for Vlad-sama"s. Becoming a knight for a second time will never happen. ] Sarah was serious. Caiden could see that in her eyes. There was no way he could get her to his side; Nina and Lumi, too, would definitely say the same thing.

[ Haah... Vlad-san really knows how he handles his women, huh? ]

[ Eh-Eh~!? No-no! Vlad-sama already has Stella and Aylsama! ] with a blush on her face, she tried to brush away Caiden"s thought.

[ Ho~? I wonder about that...? ]

( I wonder if I could also make my own harem by giving women fishes and lizards though... )

***

[ Sarah-san... There"s an enemy approaching... ]

Inside a large room filled with books and bookshelves, Lumi gave her instruction and had everyone prepared for the enemy that"s coming towards them.

At the other end of the room, a bright, round, and red light were seen. It was the enemy.

The ground shakes and a few spikes from the ceiling fell down; making a "bam!" sound as it falls down and destroys the shelves that were storing the books.

[ Sarah-san... I feel like this enemy is a lot stronger than anything we"ve encountered so far... I don"t we will stand a chance... ]

[ Tsk! Was it able to escape from master? Either way, we need to fight it...! ]

Caiden prepared his ax and made a stance, Sarah holds grip to her sword tight, Lumi took exactly three arrows from her quiver and put all of them on the string of her bow, and Nina b.u.mped her fists with iron gauntlets against each other.

They prepared themselves for the enemy that puts pressure on them without even seeing its form.