The Slime Party Reopens (2)
"Nine hundred intermediate magic stones. I can't give up on that."
"Then what other way is there? Are you suggesting we raise these guys? Galahad is one thing, but Guinevere isn't exactly our ally."
"But it's 900 intermediate magic stones! With that, we could have all our orcs riding around on direwolves! 3-star ones at that!"
After our tactical retreat from the first basement floor, I blocked the entrance and discussed the strategy for conquering it again with my subordinates. It would have been great to catch all 1,000 slime dragons, but unfortunately, only 900 remained.
"We need to earn at least half of them. Even these were only obtained because I personally reached in and pulled them out. Magic stones, only 12 of them!!"
"Then what are you going to do? There's no way to beat them to death one by one. You aren't going to grind the kids down, are you? You wouldn't do something like sending them in, letting them die if they can't mine the stones, and then resurrecting them with the stones they obtained, would you?"
"Master. That is a cautionary note that Solomon-nim advised dungeon masters to avoid."
"I hadn't even thought of that, but I've learned something new. As expected of the demons."
Incremental deployment. It was a plausible suggestion, but I had no intention of doing that.
"But I don't want to do that. I refuse to push my subordinates into the jaws of death to be eaten by slime dragons. Above all, it's a waste to squander magic stones like that."
"If it weren't for your limbs, you'd be a truly benevolent legion commander."
"Why bring that up now? Rather than doing it that way, I'd rather beat them to death myself every day. I might lose out on experience points by doing it myself, but at least I'll secure the magic stones, right?"
Currently, there were only three in our legion who could perfectly handle the slime dragons. First, Gremory. As an elementalist, Gremory could burn them all to a crisp with wide-area fire magic, but if she made a mistake, the entire dungeon could go up in flames. It would be like burning down the whole house to catch a few fleas.
Second, Ryun. Having long since surpassed level 50, and even the 3-star level cap of 55, Ryun could kill one with a few consecutive arrows. Her level was appropriate so there was no loss of experience, but the problem was that because she hunted from a distance, the slime dragons would engage in cannibalism, destroying the corpses and the magic stones within.
And finally, me. I had even torn apart a Slahole, which was higher in difficulty than a slime dragon, with my bare hands, so slime dragons were no problem at all. The only issue was that it took a bit of time to reach inside and rip out the magic stones.
Should I gain magic stones and lose experience? Or gain experience and discard the magic stones?
"I'm choosing the former, no matter what. We need to stockpile the physical goods first. We've used up all our magic stones, so we need to ensure we have enough inventory. We can summon higher-tier stone golems to build walls, summon a direwolf for every orc, and if there are any magic stones left over, we can just grind them up and eat them, right?"
"So, how many can you get in a day?"
"...Maybe 50 if I work all day?"
That was just my estimate. And my plan faced collective opposition from the start.
"No. Master, you have to pour it into me once every day."
"Yeah. Your thing is already so busy, why would you want to spend time on that?"
"Master. I haven't even yet...."
"Do you not want to fuck me?"
"In that case, I acknowledge it. I'll withdraw. Let's just farm 10 a day."
Isn't this a situation where my dick has to be busier than my body for this dungeon to run properly? I nodded at my subordinates' suggestions.
"But why are you standing there so confidently?"
"Why, do you hate it?"
"No. It's just sudden."
I asked Luna, the dark elf who had proudly appeared in our dungeon, the reason for her visit. And Luna, with a face full of confidence, crossed her arms and acted smug.
"I came because I wanted to do it!"
"Ooh, that's hot."
I thought that perhaps it was the basic specification of elves to become lewd once the estrus switch was flipped. Having been unable to do it for so long because it was a taboo, and then having it awakened through me, the backlash must be immense. I decided to give Luna exactly what she wanted.
"But let's do that later. Are you even allowed to be out right now?"
"Hm? Why?"
"I told you to come when I was full."
It had been about 25 days since I planted my seed in Luna. In about four days, she would be visibly pregnant. As a forest guardian elf, she had committed the ultimate taboo—not only carrying the seed of a monster but also intending to give birth to it—so I couldn't help but worry.
"You said it was hard to get out because of your guardian duties. Can you really just come out, sleep here, and then leave again in a few days?"
"Hehe, don't worry. That's why I thought everything through before moving."
Luna gave a thumbs up and laughed coolly.
"I volunteered for a long-term mission and broke out!"
"Is she really hopeless?"
"You said I could come whenever I wanted to do it!"
"That's true. Well, I do welcome you."
She came to the Las Legion because she wanted to Las, so how could I stop her? Right now, there was no one in our legion who could beat Luna in a 1-on-1 fight.
"You seem to have introduced yourself to Shaitan and Gremory without a care, but there's another human here. This is my potential enemy-to-be, my son-in-law and priest, Guinevere. And this is my grandson, the orc paladin Galahad."
"A priest? A paladin? ...A follower of the Goddess?"
Luna clapped her hands and brightened at the mention of the two beings who used divine power.
"May the Goddess's grace be with you!"
"May the Goddess's grace be with you. ...U-um, excuse me."
"To think a dark elf would follow the Goddess. What a truly rare experience."
Inside the dungeon, Luna was currently in 'Chocolate' flavor. And she clearly stated her identity.
"I'm Melon flavor!"
"Excuse me?"
"Ah, sorry. I caught it from her. I'm just an elf. Only a dark elf inside the dungeon."
"?????"
The father and son were in chaos! Eventually, after going outside the dungeon for a moment to prove the Melon-Chocolate milk, the subordinates were able to recognize Luna's abnormality. And that abnormality was the reason Luna could enter and leave our dungeon without any burden.
"Hehe. Thanks to that, I can fuck and leave without anyone noticing."
"I wonder what you'll do if you get kicked out of the village."
"If I get kicked out of the village, you'll take responsibility for me, right?"
"That's true."
How could I leave the owner of a maternal instinct that rivaled Lime's alone?
"But tell me, you just said it was a long-term mission, but you're planning to stay here until you give birth, aren't you?"
"Yeah. I came to take a break while I'm at it. Things are a mess on our side lately."
"A mess?"
"Yeah. The Human Alliance is being persistent about us joining them. Right now, the 1st Elder is politely turning them away, but they've been coming out of the forest lately and being persistent about us fighting against the Demon King's army."
"...I think I know the reason. I'll give you some material so you can make excuses later."
I provided Luna with appropriate information to disguise her long-term mission. A dungeon of the 63rd rank of the Demon King's army built near the Elf Forest. The orcs of that dungeon easily occupied human cities. They have no interest in the Elf Forest whatsoever and have no intention of fighting first, excluding the Human Alliance.
"Isn't this pretty decent for information collected on a long-term mission?"
"...It's more than enough. But will it be okay? Even if you give it away like this. It seems dangerous."
"What does it matter if it's dangerous? You see, I'm an orc who is generous to guests, but not to intruders. If the elves were to invade our dungeon? Hehehehe."
Luna shuddered at my touch. It had reached the point where there was no problem at all in acting like this toward Luna. Luna also didn't seem to care much about me touching other elves.
"Yeah, do whatever you want. Well, if it comes to it, I don't mind if you invade. I've lost my affection for our forest now, too."
"Excuse me? Sister, what do you mean by that?"
"Ah...."
Realizing her mistake, Luna bit her lip. Everyone's gaze was fixed on Luna, and those eyes held curiosity and interrogation. What on earth could an elf, a holder of the guardian's position, have lost her affection for? Luna closed her eyes tightly for a moment under everyone's gaze, then shrugged her shoulders.
"Ugh. My mouth is really a problem. ...Is it okay to tell you? Ahem. Fine. It's nothing else. The Elf Forest is currently split into two factions."
"Split into factions? The elves?"
"Is there any reason for elves who only believe in the elders' orders to split into factions?"
"Yeah."
Luna raised both hands. One hand had one finger up, the other had two. "There's the 1st Elder faction that opposes the Divine Beast's choice of 'someone' as the next queen, and the 2nd Elder faction that supports the Divine Beast's opinion. The reason I came out here on a so-called long-term mission is none other than because of you, Ryun."
"...In this flow, don't tell me."
"Yeah. That's right."
Luna pointed at Ryun and nodded her head vigorously.
"The Divine Beast has chosen. The next queen of the Elf Forest will be the young elf who left the forest of her own volition."
* * *
Riiip!!
The tree trunk was torn vertically. The 1st Elder, who had turned the room into a mess, was overflowing with killing intent. In the corner, Sola, the 1st Elder's daughter, was huddled and trembling.
"Hehe, hehehe. Sola. Do you think this makes any sense?"
"N-no, I don't...."
The 1st Elder was so enraged that she even threw away her dignified tone as an elder and was having hysterics. Sola only hoped that the anger wouldn't splash onto her.
"Right. It doesn't make sense. It couldn't possibly make sense. It's a taboo set by the Divine Beast. I've lived for 700 years without breaking a single taboo, and you've tried your best not to break any taboos either. Yes, why would we have done that? It was to become the next leader of the elves. Queen, Queen! The being who can use the holy sword guarded by the Divine Beast!"
Even madness could be glimpsed in the 1st Elder's eyes. The bloodshot eyes of the 1st Elder were as sharp as if she would tear her enemy to shreds with just a look. Naturally, Sola, who couldn't do anything in the same space, had no choice but to stay quiet as a mouse.
"I failed! The Divine Beast granted me the position of elder! Ah, Sola, you wouldn't know. My limit of being unable to advance beyond an elder! But you are different, Sola. Like your name, the Sun, you can become a one-of-a-kind existence hanging proudly high in the sky! The Queen of the Elves! The existence that will become the light of the elves!!"
At the 1st Elder's smile as she grabbed Sola's shoulders, Sola nodded her head vigorously.
"But why!!!!"
"Eek!!"
"Why would she make a young bitch who broke the taboo as she pleased the queen, instead of my daughter!! A bitch born from the body of some unknown stray slut!!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!"
Sola apologized, rubbing her hands together without even knowing what she had done wrong. Only then did the 1st Elder realize she had lost her mind and hugged Sola tightly.
"My child.... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was never angry at you. It's the fault of that damn bitch's daughter who stole the queen's seat that should rightfully be yours. Yes."
The 1st Elder whispered coldly while hugging Sola.
"The daughter of a bitch defiled by a demon, where does she...!"
"......!!"
* * *
"Me? Queen? I don't want to."
Ryun refused flatly. Luna shrugged her shoulders as if she had expected that.
"Well, if you've lost your affection, you would have lost it a long time ago. Anyway, the 1st Elder and the 2nd Elder are fighting like crazy right now. Do you know Sola? The 1st Elder was having huge hysterics in front of the elves because she didn't become queen."
"Ah...."
"Is Sola the 1st Elder's daughter or something?"
"Yes."
"Then that makes sense. But why is the Divine Beast making a fuss about picking a queen?"
From what Ryun and Luna had heard, they were told that everything was decided by the elders and there was no existence that could be called a 'king'. They said that even if there was a queen who existed but did not reign, a real queen was something that didn't exist, having only a nominal title.
"Because they're really about to go to war."
"Only a queen can mobilize elves for war. Humans don't understand it, but for elves, that's the rule."
"I see. But Ryun, wouldn't it be nice to be a king anyway?"
"I'm not interested in things like being a king. I like it the way it is now."
"Well, that's true. And there's no law that says it must be Ryun."
A young elf who left the forest of her own volition. Even if the last one might be Ryun, where would there be only one or two such elves? At least it wouldn't be Ryun.
'Strictly speaking, I didn't come out of my own volition.'
I have no interest in whether Ryun is the target of the oracle given by the Divine Beast or not. I have no intention of letting Ryun go anyway, and Ryun has no intention of leaving this dungeon.
"...Ryun, is there anything you want?"
"Hmm... I eat Master's all the time... Ah!"
Ryun clapped her hands and smiled brightly.
"I want to ride a direwolf too! If one is born later, can I ride a female one?"
"......I'm going to have to collect a hell of a lot of intermediate magic stones."
If Ryun says she wants to ride one, I obviously have to summon one. I scooped up a bowl of chunky Robo (No. 2) stew and handed it to Luna.
"Then Luna. Your queen says she wants to ride a direwolf. Eat this heartily and let's go to work."
"Work?"
"Yeah. You're here, so you have to work, right? Let's try to pull out a ton of magic stones."
Here, there is a dark elf who can use divine power.
"I'll give you a generous load inside for every 200 intermediate magic stones."
"Are you crazy?"
"If you don't like it, use that. I bought a new dildo tree recently, want to try it once? Hey, Gremory! Show her a demonstration!"
"Hey! Even a dog isn't bothered while eating, uuuugh?!?!"
"......."
Eventually, we compromised at 150.