For the Sake of Evolution (2)
"Instead of offering the villagers as a sacrifice, you want the two of you to be set free?"
The village chief and Mei had proposed a truly insane deal. The two of them, heads bowed to the ground, were trembling as they begged me, explaining the gist of their bargain. They would act as our guides personally. They told me I could do whatever I wanted with the villagers who were still there, as long as I turned a blind eye and let the two of them escape.
"Ryun, what do you think?"
"I don't think there's any need to attack the village, but I don't like the idea of using the villagers as scapegoats."
Ryun answered honestly while nestled in my arms. Given the nature of elves, who are optimized for defending their territory, she didn't want to leave her nest, but she showed significant disgust at the behavior of the two humans who were betraying their own companions to use them as sacrifices.
'Even the stud hunters showed some resistance.'
Since they were neighbors with whom they had been drinking and laughing just yesterday, they couldn't ask for leniency, but they had begged me not to make them kill their own neighbors with their own hands. In exchange, I had received their promise that they would continue to work hard in the bedroom. They had become true studs.
'But these two are definitely different.'
The chief and the witch had made a different choice. Not content with just valuing their own lives, they were struggling to survive by unhesitatingly sacrificing the lives of others.
'Their will to live is strong, but couldn't they just have a mental breakdown?'
Even though their bellies weren't extremely swollen yet, I wondered if they would be able to maintain their sanity after giving birth to a monster's child—or egg.
'Maybe they'll just live on regardless.'
She was a witch with a heart cold enough to prioritize her own survival even after knowing her daughter was dead. Her level and other traits were tempting in many ways, but if I kept such a venomous snake as a subordinate, it would only cause trouble. Nevertheless, Mei would live on as a member of the dungeon. Even if I hadn't revealed it yet.
"Hmm... even if you survive and get out of here, do you think you'll be able to live a normal life?"
I glared at the two of them, but my target was Mei.
"A-ah, no!"
But the chief reacted more violently.
"E-even if we had relations with a monster, no one will know if we keep it a secret! Mei will keep my secret for the rest of her life! We won't even come near this place!"
The chief's reaction was strangely intense. I couldn't understand why.
"It's forbidden by the kingdom's law for humans to have relations with monsters. They say it's punishable by death."
Ryun solved my curiosity. "That's what I heard from the elders."
"What kind of education do the elders give the elves?"
"I... I think I've lived quite a long time compared to humans."
Ryun pointed out the part I had been trying to ignore. 160 years old. In human terms—
'It's fine. My body is capable enough, so there's no problem.'
Even if someone were to be dragged away, it would be Ryun, not me. I had only been born into this world for three years.
"Ahem. So, you're going to keep the fact that you had relations with a harpy a secret for the rest of your lives?"
"Y-yes! In the first place, everyone gathered in our village—"
"Hey!!"
Mei screamed, trying to cut the chief off. The chief bit his lip, realizing his mistake, but I had already heard that he was about to say something meaningful.
"Everyone what?"
"......It's a slash-and-burn village created by people who fled after breaking the taboo of interspecies relations."
"Whoa."
So it wasn't a slash-and-burn village, but a bestiality village. I understood a little better why the stud hunters had been so comfortable with the harpy.
"Who have you done it with?"
"...I-I did it with a succubus."
The chief answered honestly, and Mei turned her head away.
"Mei, what about you?"
"......I haven't done it with anyone! I was just wandering around because of my daughter, and the village I settled in happened to be a place like this!"
Mei reacted violently, showing her anger.
"Hehehe."
I gently rubbed the buttocks of Ryun, who I was holding in my arms. Mei flinched and lowered her head.
"Right. Good. So, since it's not a crime if no one knows, you'll hide it and live on?"
"Y-yes! It would be much better for you to eat other people than to eat the two of us!"
"Is that really necessary?"
"Y-yes...?"
I called for Lime, who had returned after clearing the sub-dungeon. Lime's level was already well over 27.
"The rest of the slimes are... oh my, this one has already hit the evolution level."
The slime summoned with a magic stone yesterday had become a Big Slime today. I thought it might be the fastest evolution in our dungeon's history.
"Finding the village is easy enough. It doesn't change anything just because you two act as guides."
Therefore, the chief would be the chief. Unless he offered up useful information.
"Is there any city near your village?"
"...T-the castle of the Virgo Barony is right nearby! It takes a full half-day on foot!"
"Is that so? That's helpful."
I set Ryun down on the bed for a moment and sat in front of the chief.
"So, what is the scale of the territorial army? How many soldiers are mobilized if they build a subjugation force? How many knights are there? How many mages? Is the Virgo Barony's funding sufficient? How much money do they have to hire a mercenary group to conquer the dungeon?"
"U-uh, ugh..."
The chief couldn't answer. Since criminals had gathered to build a slash-and-burn village to avoid the eyes and taxes of the local lord, there was no way he would know any decent information.
"I-I know!"
And Mei quickly snatched the opportunity. Mei looked quite desperate.
"I'll guide you! I'll tell you everything! So please...!"
"Please what?"
"Set me free...!"
Mei truly wanted to escape from this dungeon. It seemed she hadn't even considered the option of becoming a subordinate like the stud hunters to survive.
"That's a problem. I was planning to accept you as a member of our dungeon."
"......!"
Mei looked shocked. Just as I had expected, it seemed she hadn't even considered that possibility.
"I-I'll become your subordinate! B-but there's a condition!!"
"A condition?"
"T-that is..."
I knew without her saying it. It was clear she couldn't speak because she was worried about the chief.
"Fine. I won't do 'that'."
"......Sob!"
Mei cried, banging her head on the floor.
[Mei] has been recruited as a subordinate.
Mei had become a subordinate. I turned my head to the chief, who was gaping at me before bowing his head repeatedly.
"I-I'll work hard too! I don't need any conditions!"
"You're not allowed."
I firmly rejected the chief's surrender. "You have to do something else."
I called Lime and whispered to her so the chief couldn't hear. Lime looked at me for a long time, nodded, and left the cavern with a huffing motion.
"Why is she like that?"
"Oh..."
Ryun laughed awkwardly and scratched her cheek. "She was annoyed, asking why you're increasing the slimes again after she ate 50 of them."
"......Is she jealous, by any chance?"
It wasn't like the slime route required her to be the only one. Surely not.
'If it's true, I just won't do it.'
It was my choice which way to evolve them after satisfying the conditions. I threw the chief back into the prison and helped Mei, who was prostrate on the floor, to her feet.
"Then let's go."
"W-where...?"
"Where else? To your village. And."
I whispered into Mei's ear in a voice too low for the chief to hear.
"Shall I talk about what 'that' is here...?"
"N-no!"
Mei refused to reveal her shameful behavior. "Ryun! Keep an eye on that one while you wait. I'm going to the village for a moment."
"Yes. Please be careful."
Ryun waved at me, then grabbed the hem of her robe and fidgeted. "I'll have a meal ready for you as soon as you get back."
"...Yeah."
I had planned to eat out, but it would be better to come back quickly and eat a home-cooked meal. I grabbed Mei and left the cavern, and then the dungeon.
* * *
Mei had hoped to become a subordinate, but honestly, I couldn't trust her. I hadn't given her any trust to begin with.
"T-turn more from there, hnnng!"
I just hugged Mei's breasts and thighs tightly in my arms and ran in the direction she pointed. The sight of the one breast I wasn't holding bouncing back and forth was a masterpiece, but I got tired of it after a while.
"Hoo, hoo."
I reached the clearing and took a deep breath. Mei had said it was a few hours' distance on foot, but running at full speed, it was a little over an hour.
"We're here."
Moving a little further from the clearing, a sheer cliff appeared, and below it was a small slash-and-burn village. There were no children or elderly people, and no signs of life were felt.
"It seems you weren't the only one thinking about abandoning the villagers?"
"A-ah, ah..."
Mei's lips trembled in despair. Even though she had gone to the trouble of offering the villagers as a sacrifice to survive, they had all run away and disappeared.
"T-this..."
Mei was rolling her eyes, trying to think of an excuse. The fact that she was trying to save her own skin rather than feeling relieved that the people had escaped gave me a glimpse of Mei's true nature.
"......T-they must have fled to the castle of the Barony. I know the way."
"That's not necessary."
It really wasn't. Although it wasn't visible to Mei, all the living people were camped out in a small clearing in the forest, away from the village.
'A temporary camp?'
If this was a strategy in preparation for the village being attacked, they were quite well-prepared.
'They were planning to run away if they thought the village was wiped out.'
They had left the village empty so that if it really was a dungeon, they could abandon it and flee as soon as monsters came out to loot it. You couldn't see it well from a distance, but there was definitely someone with a sharp mind among them. They must have set traps in the village, and they would be disarmed if someone came.
'The number of people is about 30.'
There were many more than before, but their skills didn't seem that great. The fatigue of the process of catching them seemed more annoying than the benefits gained from catching them.
"Hmm?"
Something entered the village. A soldier who had ridden in on a horse checked the state of the village and immediately turned his horse around to leave.
"It's a scout from the Barony..."
Mei identified the soldier in a weak voice.
"You're not wrong, are you?"
"O-of course! I know him well because he came often."
"How?"
"T-that is..."
Mei blushed and fell silent. Only then did I realize how Mei had settled in the village and how the slash-and-burn village was maintained in the forest.
"Now that there's no one left, the soldiers will swarm in."
I grabbed Mei's breasts and shook them. Mei frowned as if my touch hurt, but I didn't care and held her tight.
"We're going back. My scouting is done too."
I turned around, holding Mei. Mei stared at the village for a long time before closing her eyes tightly, and I walked slowly, discussing our 'conditions'.
"So, Mei. As you know, in my dungeon—"
"Behind."
Mei bit her lip, tears welling up. "Y-you can do whatever you want behind, so please, in front...!"
"Is that so?"
I immediately grabbed Mei's waist and twisted it. Mei was shocked, flailing her arms as my penis was pressed against her buttocks.
"H-here...!"
"Heh heh, don't be scared. Don't worry. I'm not interested in your behind right now."
I slapped Mei's buttocks and grabbed her again to lift her up. Mei let out a complex sigh mixed with relief and anxiety, her body trembling.
"Right. I'm not interested in your behind."
"......?"
Mei struggled to understand the meaning of my words, but she wouldn't be able to notice. That Mei's lower abdomen was already slightly swollen.
'Surely running like this won't cause any problems.'
So I had to run a little faster to get back to the dungeon cavern.
# Mei - 2 hours and 24 minutes remaining.
I had to rush back and restrain Mei as quickly as possible. I kicked off the forest path I had run down and sprinted. 'Looting can wait.' Now that I knew the location of the village, I could gather troops and raid it at any time, and attacking hunters who were on high alert without any countermeasures was a moronic move.
'So, I'll strengthen my forces a bit more and aim for when they let their guard down.'
I had no intention of letting them go. I returned to the dungeon, holding Mei.
Rustle.
"...?"
Somewhere, a fresh and delicious scent of grapes wafted by.
......Slurp!
Mei's sweat-drenched breasts tasted like sour grapes.
* * *
"......."
In the bushes. A golden-haired woman with long ears stood on a tree branch and then carefully climbed down. Thanks to holding her breath for several minutes and staying hidden, she had been able to avoid being discovered by a very terrifying monster.
"I thought it was the work of humans..."
A new enemy had been added. The elf, Luna, grabbed the thick footprints in the dirt with her hand.
"An orc is here...!"
Luna hurriedly took flight and returned toward the forest.