Finally, The Return

We decided to wrap up the exploration for today and save the fifth basement floor for tomorrow. It’s simply too vast; we’d definitely run out of time if we started now. Since this is likely a floor we’ll be frequenting for a long time, I want to check every nook and cranny eventually. To do that, I also need to prepare a bit better.

But the biggest factor is that everyone is mentally exhausted. Honestly, that’s what I’m actually worried about.

I think it was a mistake to blurt out the whole “Dragon of Ruin” story in the heat of finding the floor I’d been looking for. To be fair, the content is so outlandish that I’d intended to keep it hidden for a while… but the sense of solidarity from coming this far together got the better of me, and I just charged ahead.

As a result, while Mia just looked blankly confused, Paula suddenly became… strange. She started kneeling and acting formal, or just staring at my face with this entranced look. Her eyes look dead serious, and it’s actually kind of scary. It feels like she understands my words but is misinterpreting about 70% of them—or like some subconscious subtext I never intended is being added automatically. I can’t shake that feeling.

I’m sure it’s just the fatigue talking, but I want to get us back to the surface as soon as possible so they can rest. They’ve been on edge all day.

“Alright, let’s call it a day and head back.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Stop that, please.”

“Is it not to your liking?”

The way she asks that with a completely straight face is terrifying. I let out a small sigh and steeled myself. Fine, “in for a penny, in for a pound.”

“It just feels… distant. I liked it better when you were more familiar… with… me…”

I trailed off as Paula’s expression softened and blossomed like a flower. To call it “lust” would have a bad ring to it, but she was overflowing with such an overwhelming sensuality that I felt totally overpowered. I think any man would understand why I’d flinch here.

“Yes, Sir.”

Watching Paula, whose chocolate-colored skin was now tinged with a faint crimson, I found myself wondering once again exactly where I had gone wrong.

“Well, we can figure that out back at the village. Mia, are you okay?”

“…Yes… as Lord Nino commands…”

I looked over, startled, and saw that Mia was also clearly not okay. Her eyes were unfocused; she was nowhere near “fine.” Recalling that Paula and Mia had been talking intently earlier, I asked hurriedly:

“Did… did you do something?”

“Yes. I provided a bit of education regarding her manner of speech.”

“Change it back.”

“But—”

“Just change it back, Paula-san!”

In my fright, I accidentally used formal honorifics, causing Paula’s eyes to go wide as if she’d been hit by a hammer.

“S-Sir. Th-that…”

“Please, Paula-san!”

“For one such as I to be addressed in such a manner is unfit…”

“If you don’t change it back quickly, I’m going to use honorifics forever. Paula-san!”

“I-I understand! Immediately!”

I don’t really get it, but she seems to have understood. I looked for Yoru and Kuu to stabilize my own psyche. Surely the feel of those two would calm my heart.

I looked around and saw the beast-child and the bird-child slumped face-down together on top of the Blue Slimes. Leaning in, I could hear their cute, rhythmic snoring. They really ran around a lot today.

While I was petting their heads, Mia came back, shaking her head as if to clear it. Behind her stood Paula, with a smile that only touched her lips.

“Ugh… my head feels all fuzzy. Sensei, did I say something weird?”

“No, not really…”

“Hehe, what a strange thing to ask, Mia. Now then, shall we head back, Sir?”

And so, we finally began our journey home.

Today’s Haul & Materials

The sheer amount of magic stones is incredibly helpful. There are so many items worth transmuting that I’m about to scream with joy. As for the Copper Ore and White-Glow Stone on the 3rd floor and the Galls on the 4th, those were gathered by touching things while my item menu was open. After the luck with the Sphagnum and the bat-poop stones, I started probing every suspicious-looking spot. Since I don’t know what can be gathered on which floor yet, I’ll just have to keep touching everything.

Regarding the White-Glow Stones: they are basically the lighting for the dungeon, so gathering them is generally discouraged. The ones found on the market are usually taken from places with multiple stones where the light wouldn’t be missed, or from dungeons with extremely high mana. There wasn’t a cluster like that on B4F, but I knew they’d fetch a high price, so I gathered them on the way back. I’m looking forward to confirming their value tomorrow.

Our familiars now include the two Blue Slimes and the Giant Worm. Joining them were the Fairy, “Yo-chan,” and the Great Caterpillar, “Imo-tchi.” I wanted one fairy as an escort since they’re cute and serve as light sources, but maintaining Subordination requires a massive amount of mana if the number of familiars grows too large. Considering the burden on Paula, I didn’t want to push her today.

Despite that, for some reason, Paula performed without me saying a word. When I looked at her in surprise, she just smiled silently. Scary. Please don’t read my mind. Still, to perform Subordination immediately after Allure on a Fairy—who has incredibly high Magic Defense—is impressive. As for the Caterpillar, it was the one Yo-chan had been riding. Even after Yo-chan was enslaved, the caterpillar kept following us desperately, so Mia, feeling bad for it, begged Paula to take it. She acted grossed out at first, but now she’s doting on it and even gave it a name.

Between looking for missed items and taking a slow bath at the fountain, it was already starting to get dark when we stepped outside. It seems we spent almost the entire day in the dungeon. I took a deep breath of the surface air, filling my lungs as I stretched.

Then, I froze.

I realized we were surrounded by a group with their weapons drawn.