Chapter 2

Nevir sat on an old wooden chair in his room, scribbling notes on the quest guild's papers.

"Alright, finally finished designing these quests. All I gotta do now is hand 'em over to the Adventurer's Guild along with the completion rewards, and bam—adventurers'll come flockin' to this dungeon."

Truth be told, this method of luring in adventurers was pretty standard. Almost every dungeon manager used it. For a newly established dungeon like his, it was the fastest way to get noticed.

Lost in thought, Nevir didn't even realize someone had been standing in front of him for the past few minutes.

"Ow, ow, ow—that hurts!" He grabbed his ear, squirming as it was yanked mercilessly.

"Idiot. Has it only been ten days since I last saw you, and you've already gotten so rude you don't even respect your big sister?!" The girl's voice was sharp, a mix of irritation and anger.

Like Nevir, she had jet-black hair—except hers was pin-straight and so long it reached just past her hips. Her golden eyes gleamed, striking against her flawless, breathtaking features.

"S-Sis, l-let go!" Nevir's voice wasn't quite a shout, but it was definitely louder than usual.

The girl twisted his ear harder, making him yelp.

"Aaaaaaah!"

×××

Now on his knees, Nevir was practically bowing before the young woman—his sister.

She sat comfortably on the chair, one long leg draped over his head, pinning him down so he couldn't even lift his forehead from the floor.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I'll respect you from now on, I swear!" His voice trembled with forced compliance.

"Nadia, please… I was just caught up in work, that's why I didn't notice you!" He tried to lift his head to look at her, but her foot kept him firmly in place.

Nadia glared down at him, brows furrowed. "Oh, so you were too busy designing your little quests to remember who I am? Since when is this dungeon more important than your own sister?"

Nevir, clearly just trying to appease her, muttered, "Okay, okay, don't make a big deal out of it. I was just a little busy, that's all. I'll make it up to you."

A mischievous grin curled Nadia's lips. "Good. Now that you remember who's in charge here, let's see what this useless dungeon of yours even has." She finally lifted her foot off his head.

Nevir peeled his forehead off the floor and stood up, exhaustion in his eyes. "Nadia, please, don't mess with me. I've got enough on my plate as it is."

"Oh yeah? Like designing those worthless quests of yours?" she mocked.

Scowling, Nevir shot back, "These quests are gonna save this dungeon from its miserable state."

Nadia's expression turned more serious. "I know. I just wanna make sure you don't screw it up again. I don't wanna see you fail. Again."

Her golden eyes bore into him—sharp, piercing. Her brows were slightly knit, lips pursed in a mix of concern and scorn. But beneath it all, there was just the faintest hint of sympathy.

Nadia paced across the room, curiously inspecting her surroundings. She gently touched one of the scrolls on the desk with her finger, smirking playfully but with a hint of mockery. "Really? These are the quests that are supposed to save the dungeon?"

Noir, visibly irritated, ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Nadia, if all you're here to do is mock me, you'd better leave. I've already got enough chaos to deal with."

Holding the scroll up for emphasis, Nadia replied in a serious tone, "No, I came to help. But first, I need to make sure you won't mess things up this time." There was more concern than sarcasm in her voice.

Noir locked eyes with her golden gaze, his tone firm yet fatigued. "Help? Your 'help' always ends up creating more problems. This time, I want to fix everything myself."

Raising an eyebrow, Nadia grinned challengingly. "Alright, Mr. Dungeon Manager. But keep in mind, if this plan fails, there won't be a way back."

Noir paused for a moment, her words seemingly sinking deeper into his mind than he wanted to admit. Then, with a reluctant sigh, he said, "Fine. But you have to promise me your schemes won't cause more trouble than they're worth."

With a mischievous wink, Nadia said, "Don't worry. With me here, nothing can go wrong."

Noir muttered under his breath, "Yeah, just like last time when absolutely *nothing* went wrong..."

Ignoring his comment, Nadia smiled triumphantly. "Now, let's see what we can do. Time to dive into the action!"

Noir, exhausted, turned back to his cluttered desk full of scrolls, muttering under his breath, "Just when I started getting things organized, now you're here to mess everything up again..."

Leaning casually against the corner of the room, Nadia chuckled softly, savoring her own playful antics. Then, with a more confident and composed tone, she added, "Not that things were *that* organized anyway. Trust me, if an adventurer saw this dungeon right now, they'd run away before even stepping inside."

Not wanting to escalate the conversation further, Noir took a deep breath and replied, "Fine. Let's see if you can actually help, or if you're just here to talk."

Her face lit up with a sly smile, as if she had taken his challenge personally. She strode toward the maps and picked one up, studying it carefully. Then, with a tone that was both curious and critical, she asked, "So, where exactly is this dungeon located? What's the positioning here? Honestly, what you've drawn is far from clear."

Noir, his eyes half-closed in weariness, answered, "It's near one of the central cities—a prime spot to attract adventurers. The only issue is that the monsters and rewards here aren't very enticing right now."

Nadia raised her eyebrows, sarcasm dripping from her voice as she said, "Unarmed skeletons? Enticing? I'm guessing you're hoping for adventurers to show up purely out of pity for this dungeon."

Trying to stay composed, Noir replied, "Alright, since you're so full of opinions, do you have any ideas? Or did you just come here to humiliate me?"

With a self-assured grin, Nadia declared, "Oh, I've got plenty of ideas. But first, I need to prove that my ideas are always better than yours."

In a theatrical gesture, she grabbed another scroll from the desk and narrowed her eyes as she examined it closely. With playful teasing, she said, "Well, Mr. Dungeon Manager, at this rate, the only visitors you'll have are adventurers just as weak as yourself."

Noir, growing tired of her endless taunts, ran a hand through his hair and replied wearily, "Alright, Lady Nadia, the genius. If you have a brilliant plan, spit it out. If not, let me get back to work."

She smirked mischievously and slammed the scroll down on the desk with a dramatic flourish. "Alright, listen. First of all, you need monsters that can actually scare adventurers—the kind who chase after fame and fortune. The era of limp skeletons is long gone."

Noir, coldly, replied, "Thanks for the valuable insight. You know, the main problem is the limited resources. I can't use stronger monsters."

Hands on her hips in a show of authority, Nadia leaned forward slightly and said, "Your problem is that you always think halfway. Come on, I can help you find some top-tier monsters without breaking the budget. Of course, if you're brave enough to admit you actually need my help."

Locking eyes with her golden gaze, Noir responded quietly yet pointedly, "Fine, Madam Expert. Let's see just how effective these legendary monsters of yours really are."

She raised her chin proudly, her confidence evident as she said, "Just watch. I'm going to turn this place into something worth visiting. All you need to do is sit back and let me take charge."

Noir took a deep breath. Despite their constant arguments, he knew Nadia genuinely cared for him and wanted to help.

"Alright, I guess you really do care about me... Thanks, Nadia." Noir smiled softly at his sister as he spoke.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and in an embarrassed tone, she crossed her arms defensively and said, "Hmph! Don't think this is about you! I just don't want our family name tarnished even more, that's all!"

Noir mumbled something under his breath that made a faint smile tug at the corners of Nadia's lips. She stepped toward the door, then turned back and said, "Just hurry up. I don't want to waste my precious time on you any longer."

Fixing his gaze on the maps, Noir muttered, "Yeah, thanks so much for your endless generosity."

With a smirk, Nadia left the room, throwing a playful jab as she went. "Loser." Yet the tone of her voice revealed that it was all in good fun.

Once she had gone, Noir collapsed into his wooden chair, letting his head droop over the back. His empty, hollow eyes stared at the ceiling, and he muttered in a voice devoid of life, "I know, I know, I'm just a failure. Even my own parents didn't want me."

As the thought sunk in, a bitter smile formed on Noir's lips.