553 Just Give Us A Call For World Domination

We were back exploring the Dungeon again though it seems like Sebastian decided to let someone else be the navigator instead.

The reason for that was because I easily led the party to the next floor for the past five floors after that boss…

I even tried to follow the map that was clearly incorrect and though I would lead us to a dead end at first, once I started improvising a little I ended up finding the path to the stairs right after.

Hey, it's not like I was intentionally trying to do that, it just happened ok?!

I wondered why Sebastian didn't want to just draw a map showing me a route I should take around that floor but I guess if the girls managed to peek at the map, they would easily realise that the real problem was the map instead so he chose not to.

Right now, Selene was the one leading us through the Dungeon instead and he did not even assign a leader role this time.

I guess Sebastian already gave up on the idea of giving the wrong map to us since we have not been seeing any dead ends for a while now.

Although I know for a fact that he must be planning something else because he's been looking through some papers that he pulled out from his suit for a while now.

"Oh, I found the stairs," Selene announced, stepping aside to show said stairs at the end of the corridor.

Sebastian made a grunt sound from the back, which I presume meant that we should head to the next floor.

If I'm not wrong, we were now on the thirteenth floor of the Dungeon and we were still doing quite well. The monsters aren't too hard to beat and the only boss we encountered so far was that golem.

We continued forward through the corridor towards the stairs and… Well… I guess after breezing through the Dungeon so far there was bound to be something happening to impede us.

The walls on either side of the corridor suddenly opened and the way back and forward were also blocked by walls that slid out to box us in.

On both sides of us, monsters ranging from spiders, golems and even several goblins and orcs surrounded us.

Looks like we stepped into a monster house.

"Protect Mistress!"

"Attack the golems first!"

"Retreat to the wall!"

Three different orders came all at the same time, making me realise that Sebastian might have intentionally neglected selecting a leader for this reason.

Because of the differing orders, everyone was a little late to react to the threat and stood around being confused.

I decided to take charge instead but before I could say anything, Sebastian clamped my mouth shut with his hands.

I turned to look at him and he simply shook his head.

Ah… This was also part of the training I see…

The monsters then started charging towards us in a frenzy and we were still quite disorganised.

In the end, everyone scattered to confront the monsters coming towards us in an attempt to push back the horde, leaving me standing in the middle to support them.

That was obviously not ideal for me since it meant that my attention had to be spread around to support a wide area instead of being concentrated in just one direction.

Already, I was trying to heal Selene who had taken a blow from an orc on my left while buffing Odeta who was locked in a wrestling match with a golem on my right. That's also while I was keeping track of Katsuki dashing around the monsters' flanks to heal her if she gets in trouble too.

Sebastian frowned at the sight, "As expected… They became a disorganised mess right away… Are you able to support them like this, Aster?"

"Umm… It's difficult but… I can manage to a degree…" I admitted.

The plus side was that I did not need to chant my spells so I could get away with simply reacting to anything that happens instead of predicting them ahead of time. But still, to keep track of so many people in such a wide area all by myself is a little bit difficult…

Oh wait… I don't have to do this alone anymore do I?

I called up Eins and just in case, Zwei and Drei as well.

"Master," They greeted me, right before turning to direct their attention to the fight without any prompting from me.

They already knew my intention for them to support the girls in the fight since they started healing and buffing them of their own accord.

Damn… Did I mention how OP this is?

Actually… Now I'm a bit curious… What would happen if you were to layer the same buffs on a person?

I know that using [Strength] and [Body Current] works in an additive way, but what if I had two different Iatromancers cast [Strength] on the same person? Would it work? And if it does, would the effects be additive or multiplicative?

I guess I'll test it out later when we're not in combat.

Sebastian was looking at my Shadow Guards with interest, "I see… How interesting… This changes some things."

I tilted my head at him, "What is it?"

He pointed at Eins, "How many of them do you have?"

Err… Truth be told I have a lot… But I only bothered to name a hundred of them so…

"About a hundred I guess? Why?"

"Hmm… Do you realise the power you hold in your hands, Young Mistress?"

Huh. 'Young Mistress' and not 'Aster'? I guess he's being serious right now.

I scratched my cheek, "Erm… I guess as much power as someone with a never ending supply of shadow summons?"

He shook his head, "More than that, Mistress. Given time, you could take over a country on your own and then maybe even the rest of the world if you want to, something even the Madam would not be able to do unless she truly works towards it."

"Err… How so?"

"If I'm right, these Shadow Guards grow stronger alongside you, Young Mistress?"

I nodded.

He then gestured to himself, "I will not lie, Young Mistress. I truly believe that one day you will surpass even myself in strength. And just by myself, I could possibly stand my ground against the entire imperial guards of the Lehcarouc Kingdom. If Madam were to order me to do just that, I would obey without question but in order to actually take over the Kingdom by force, she may require a hundred others around my strength to do so."

I understood his point, "But there is no guarantee that the other ninety nine people would be as loyal as you are."

He nodded, "Correct, Young Mistress. But with your Shadow Guards, it is already a guarantee that they will be completely loyal to you and they are even able to operate independently. Right now, you might not be able to conquer a kingdom on your own but if you do not intend to stop getting stronger, then it will just be a matter of time. Literally."

"Umm… I get that… But I don't really have any intentions of conquering kingdoms though?"

Sebastian gave me a wry smile, "Young Mistress. You may say that but others might not think the same as you do. There is a reason why our Family is treated with equal amounts of fear and respect. If it wasn't for Madam's relationship with the Royal Family, they would have seen us as a threat and tried to find ways to get rid of us."

"What exactly is the relationship of Mother? Was she part of the Royal Family in the past or… Maybe even the Queen at one point?"

"I apologise, Young Mistress, but it is not my position to talk about that. You may ask Madam if she wishes to divulge such a secret to you."

I know for a fact she most probably wouldn't tell me and simply start pampering me with sweets… It's not that important anyway.

"So I should look out for people who might want to make use of me?" I asked.

"That, and more, Young Mistress. I would suggest not to let this skill of yours be known as much as possible and even if you need to, only reveal this to people you trust with your life. There are things and people out there who would try and turn you to their side in their quest for power. Right now, Young Mistress has not seen much of the World but it is not as peaceful as it might seem."

I frowned, "What? Are there countries on the precipice of a war or something?"

"Hmm… Not to that level I would say, but there are small skirmishes amongst lords and ladies around the borders. Young Mistress intends to travel the World so you need to be wary of such things. Although…"

At this point, he bent down slightly so that he could whisper in my ear, "If you do intend to conquer the world… Do let us know. We will aid you in your conquest, Young Mistress."

…

I err… I'll let you know if it comes down to that I guess…