(Second Update) (Continued)

When he saw the towering stone gate of the dungeon, Nita Goichi could no longer contain his excitement and happily rushed forward.

"The Elite Committee will ultimately rule the Inner World!"

However, before he could touch the stone on the dungeon gate, a voice drifted leisurely over from the side.

"Who said you could enter the dungeon before me?"

Everyone's hair instantly stood on end.

They looked to the side and saw a rather handsome young man standing there with a katana in hand, smiling at this group of uninvited guests as gently as a spring breeze.

Under the sunlight, the katana glinted coldly. Yet there was not the slightest warmth in that smile; instead, it made them shudder.

No one had seen him before, but everyone knew how formidable he was.

Tsukikawa Shu, the man who had dared to publicly declare that he was "Widely Recruiting Virtuous Wives"!

"Damn it, we were so focused on opening the dungeon that we forgot about this Great Demon Lord..."

Every player serving as a bodyguard broke out in a cold sweat.

(Fourth update! This is the second bonus chapter for reaching three thousand recommendation votes. Please toss me some tips and votes!)

{{{(>_<)}}}

I've been writing for four years now, and this is probably the worst-performing book I've ever written.

Because I got sick and had a lot on my plate, I hadn't properly written a novel for half a year. When I first started again, I had no feeling for it at all. My mind was completely blank. I dropped three books in a row; each had been planned for over a week, yet I abandoned them before even reaching twenty thousand words. During that time, I was constantly disappointed and lost, and I kept wondering whether I simply wasn't suited to writing novels.

When I started this book, I also thought about dropping it many times. I even considered just writing it casually and calling it a day. And that was indeed what happened, which led to people constantly criticizing the book in the review section.

But honestly, I'd grown numb to it. I figured this book would probably only have around three thousand bookmarks by the time it went premium, with perhaps three or four hundred average subscriptions. It would be a complete flop among flops. I really wanted to just give up.

But several readers had supported me from the very beginning, and I'm truly grateful to them. Especially one reader who tipped me thirty blades all at once. I was very touched at the time. Even I felt this book wasn't worth receiving that many tips.

It was because you kept reading and supporting me that I was able to write this book all the way to premium release.

Although the book's performance is still pretty terrible, and its daily votes are far behind those of other books, I still want to give it a try. At least I should see how things go after putting it behind a paywall. What if it somehow reaches one thousand average subscriptions?

Even if it doesn't, earning the attendance bonus would still be nice. At least I could get that first, so I'd have a little living allowance and wouldn't have to scrape by so miserably.

After writing for so long, this is the first time I've been this humble. An author who has been writing for four years has fallen to the point of needing the attendance bonus to survive. It made me think back to when I first entered web fiction, when all I wanted was that attendance bonus.

Since the book is going premium, I might as well open a bounty too:

One extra chapter for every 100 monthly votes, one extra chapter for every 5,000 Cat Coins tipped, one extra chapter for every 50 blades, and 40 extra chapters for a Golden Treasure Chest tip. There probably won't be one of those. The event lasts until the end of this month, and all bonus chapters will be repaid within a week.

Thank you all for staying with me, and thank you for your votes.

I'd also like to thank the following 26 readers for their tips and support:

dfreewa, Subaru-san, This King, Upright and Incorruptible, Miss Shiori Wants to Fall in Love, Gu, Summer Lemon, Cloud Chess Water Mirror, Yatogami Shika, Want Some Beef Offal?, Hatsune_Miku, Yue Li, Ah Long, zx17, Book Guest 35787970253, Suicide Squad Pig Hero, Super World-Class Hope, Book Guest 6322382022, Saigiya, Xu 5, Lord of the Netherworld.

Thank you for your support. The next update will be at two tomorrow afternoon. See you tomorrow!

Nita Goichi finally came to his senses. In an instant, he was drenched in sweat. Faced with the cold glint of the blade, he collapsed onto the ground and trembled all over.

The bold declaration about establishing order in the Inner World instantly vanished from his mind.

"Um... Lord Tsukikawa, we didn't mean to offend you..."

Kyuutake Itsuki, who had always been tough and forceful within the team, immediately wilted and hurriedly spoke.

But right afterward, he resented himself for being so clumsy with words, unable to say anything flattering.

So he fixed his gaze on a male student from Shuchiin Academy behind him, dragged him forward, and said, "You! Explain our situation to Lord Tsukikawa."

"Ah? I..." The other boy stammered in fear.

Yet under Kyuutake Itsuki's fierce glare, he could only step forward trembling.

"Lord Tsukikawa, we are deeply sorry... We didn't know you were here and had no intention of offending you. We only came to clear the dungeon. We meant no harm..."

He searched desperately for every polite phrase he could think of before finally managing to explain the situation clearly.

At this stage, every player feared Tsukikawa Shu's strength.

The highest level anyone had reached was only level 20, while Tsukikawa Shu had already reached level 35 during the previous trip to the Inner World. No one knew what level he was now.

He was the first person to open a dungeon, and he possessed countless medals.

Tsukikawa Shu remained calm, one hand gripping the hilt of his katana as he merely swept his gaze across the more than twenty people who had rushed here through wind and dust today.

It was obvious from their equipment that only around ten of them could truly be called high-level players. The rest were helpless students, perhaps even only level 1.

These bodyguard players still needed money and power. Otherwise, why would they spend so much time and effort protecting this many people?

At first glance, he spotted several familiar figures in the crowd. Fujiwara Chika was among them.

There was no worry visible on her face. She was even boldly and curiously peeking in his direction.

Her mental state seemed pretty good?

Could this girl remain an optimist even in the Inner World? Tsukikawa Shu found that somewhat surprising.

Then there was the boy he had frightened into collapsing.

Tsukikawa Shu glanced at him and discovered that his pants were already soaked through.

"D-Don't kill me..."

When Nita Goichi saw Tsukikawa Shu looking over, he was nearly scared out of his wits.

Tsukikawa Shu had spoken with Fujiwara Chika before and knew a little about this so-called Elite Committee. Its leader was a chubby kid named Nita Goichi. This was probably him.

He was a rather arrogant young master, but Tsukikawa Shu had no interest in him.

Although Fujiwara Chika disliked him, she was not Tsukikawa Shu's wife. He had no grudge against this guy either, so he couldn't be bothered playing the righteous protector of a flower.

Any effort spent on a woman unwilling to become his wife was nothing more than raising someone else's wife for them.

As for the Elite Committee or the DOLLARS organization, each had its own rules, but they were all bullshit in the end. Tsukikawa Shu couldn't be bothered managing such organizations. Besides, time was pressing, and he had no interest in dealing with these small fry.

—As long as they didn't provoke him.

"You can have your turn after I'm done clearing it," Tsukikawa Shu said calmly.

With that, Tsukikawa Shu walked straight to the stone gate of the dungeon.

Goto Hitori and Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had followed behind him, also stood at Tsukikawa Shu's back and merely gave the so-called Elite Committee members an indifferent glance.

"Let's go."

Tsukikawa Shu held the hands of his two wives, one on each side.

"Let's go," Hiratsuka Shizuka said with a smile.

Goto Hitori nodded as well. But with so many people watching Tsukikawa Shu hold her hand today, she unexpectedly felt a little shy, and her face reddened.

The three of them walked together into the vortex within the stone gate and entered the dungeon.

With the danger gone, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"I couldn't obtain data on the weapons those two women were holding!"

A player hiding at the back of the crowd removed the monocle from his eye, utterly shocked.

"What happened? Explain clearly!" Miyamoto Daichoku frowned and grabbed the player by the collar.

"My item is called the 'Insight Eye.' It's a Rare Grade item that can identify the functions and stats of Rare Grade items and anything below that."

He looked extremely nervous. "But the weapons those two women had—the guitar on one's back and the knuckle duster—I couldn't obtain any data on them at all."

"That means their equipment is at least Epic Grade!"

"Epic Grade equipment?" Only then did everyone's understanding truly get overturned.

"No wonder Tsukikawa Shu dared to use Rare Grade items and weapons to 'Widely Recruit Virtuous Wives.' So his entire group is decked out in Epic Grade equipment?"

Having reached that conclusion, everyone instantly fell into a sense of unreal disparity.

Most of those present could only wield fine-quality weapons and treated them like priceless treasures, while the other side's weapons were already two entire tiers above theirs.

As for the level 1 Shuchiin Academy students, they merely exchanged confused looks. They could not truly grasp how vast that gap was.

"Damn it, that guy's luck is really good." Kyuutake Itsuki spat on the ground.

He envied Tsukikawa Shu immensely. The guy had resources all around him and beautiful women surrounding him. Who wouldn't be jealous, envious, and hateful after seeing that?

Only after confirming that Tsukikawa Shu's group had entered the dungeon and there was no further movement did Nita Goichi force his trembling legs to carry him away from the stone gate and back to the others.

"People like him are naturally opposed to us. But it doesn't matter. He can only be ahead temporarily. Our wealth and connections are enough to give us a latecomer's advantage," Nita Goichi muttered.

Fujiwara Chika, however, was utterly stunned and fell into a daze.

"He only took two wives???! He really only made contracts with two, right?"

She blurted it out without realizing.

The Shuchiin Academy students around her cast her strange looks, unable to understand why Fujiwara Chika was interested in something like that.

"He's already someone who dared to publicly say he was 'Widely Recruiting Virtuous Wives.' Taking two wives is perfectly normal, isn't it?" Tanuma Tsubasa said.

"That's true. After all, no one can restrain him in this Inner World." Tomioki Nagisa nodded beside him.

Yet Fujiwara Chika remained immersed in her surprise.

If Tsukikawa Shu were truly nothing more than a lust-driven beast, he should have had a harem of three thousand beauties by now. With his strength and resources, how many women would be willing to throw themselves at him?

Yet he really only had two women by his side, and one of them was Goto Hitori, the girl Fujiwara Chika had known for a long time—the rustic-looking, somewhat silly girl.

In the original world, two-timing like that would make him an absolute scumbag.

But this was the unrestrained Inner World!

That clearly made him a devoted warrior of pure love, okay?!

(Please support the first paid chapter! I'm begging you, begging!)

Naturally, the others had no idea what Fujiwara Chika was thinking. Based on the values they had been raised with, Tsukikawa Shu's actions were abnormal and deserved criticism.

Of course, everyone only said such things aloud. No one actually dared to offend that Great Demon Lord.

"So, what do we do now?" someone asked.

The entire group fell silent.

It was as if everyone had been doused with a bucket of cold water. Their earlier excitement over opening the dungeon had completely vanished.

Their plan had been set already: spend ten hours clearing the dungeon, then use the remaining time to rest. Or perhaps explore the map and kill some other monsters to replenish their Experience Points.

But everyone had been blinded by the enormous rewards awaiting them. And since Tsukikawa Shu's popularity had faded somewhat recently, they had all temporarily overlooked his existence.

Thinking about it now, it made sense. The dungeon's rewards were so high; Tsukikawa Shu had to be waiting nearby!

"What else can we do? Just wait!"

Like a deflated balloon, Kyuutake Itsuki viciously slammed the machete on his shoulder to the ground and sat down where he was.

There might have been ten fairly capable players on their side, making them one of the strongest groups in the Inner World right now, but compared to Tsukikawa Shu, they were all weaklings.

Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku were in the T1 tier, while the others were T2. Tsukikawa Shu, on the other hand, was the sole occupant of T0!

"How about we look around nearby while we wait and earn some Experience Points too?"

Someone else made a suggestion.

Most of the players agreed. They had nothing else to do, and time was extremely precious. Wasting even a little time meant their strength would weaken by another point, perhaps causing them to become someone else's Experience Pack.

All the players immediately set out, afraid that someone else would snatch away their Experience Points.