[The Abyssal Academy - First Floor Labyrinth]
Inspector Vance stared at the microscopic Terms of Service, his hands trembling. The Holy Kingdom's ultimate, foolproof bureaucratic strategy had just been completely neutralized by the fine print on a pink cardboard ticket.
"This is an outrage!" Vance crumpled the ticket, dropping his undercover persona. His eyes flared with holy, inquisitorial fury. "You think you can hide behind loopholes, demon?! I will find a violation that cannot be waived! I will audit your kitchens! I will audit your staff!"
"You will find nothing but perfectly optimized synergy," Victor said coldly, checking his Rolex. "But before you continue wasting my time, let us conduct a brief audit of your agency."
Victor opened the Tycoon's Ledger.
"Dawn. Appraise the Continental Dungeon Safety Administration."
The Ledger glowed brightly, projecting a golden holographic pie chart into the air between them.
[Entity: CDSA. Annual Budget: 2 Million Gold.] [Funding Source: 98% Holy Kingdom Treasury.] [Current Financial Status: Critically Underfunded. Bankruptcy Imminent.]
Vance's face went pale. He swallowed hard, staring at the holographic data.
"Your parent company just went bankrupt trying to pull a gacha potion, Vance," Victor adjusted his midnight-blue cuffs, his voice dripping with capitalist dominance. "The Vatican cannot fund your department anymore. You don't have the budget to enforce a parking ticket, let alone shut down a multinational corporate dungeon."
"I... I am an officer of the law," Vance stammered, backing away. "I serve the public good."
"You serve whoever signs your paychecks," Victor stepped forward. "And right now, your checks are bouncing. But I am a generous man. I am a job creator."
Victor tapped his fountain pen against the Ledger. A new, golden contract materialized, hovering in the air next to the terrifying spiked pendulum.
"I am officially offering to privatize your regulatory agency," Victor announced. "The Pantheon Group will fully fund the CDSA. We will double your salary, provide premium portal travel, and grant you absolute authority to conduct surprise inspections."
Elara's eyes widened. "Principal Thorne... you're bribing a government official?"
"Bribing is an illegal, hidden expense," Victor corrected his Growth Partner. "This is Lobbying. It is entirely legal, and it is a tax write-off."
Victor looked directly into the terrified inspector's eyes.
"There is only one condition, Vance," Victor smiled a ruthless, predatory smile. "As a subsidiary of the Pantheon Group, your agency will exclusively enforce these rigorous safety codes on my competitors. The Dwarven Mines. The Goblin Warrens. The Rogue Guilds. I want you to walk into every rival dungeon on this continent and shut them down for lacking guardrails."
Vance stared at the glowing contract. He had come here to destroy the Principal. But his agency was broke. His Kingdom was in ruins. And the human standing in front of him was offering unlimited power and funding.
"You want me to weaponize the safety code against your rivals to secure your monopoly," Vance whispered, completely awestruck by the sheer, unadulterated evil of the business plan.
"I call it Regulatory Capture," Victor held out his gold-nibbed pen. "Sign the contract, Inspector. Let's go put the competition out of business."
With a trembling hand, the Holy Inquisitor took the pen and signed his name.