Slash-and-Burn Village Before the Dungeon, Las Village (4)

I couldn't just sleep. It was hard to give up the limited opportunities to level up, so I summoned the three mother-daughter pairs. Harpy (★) and Harpy (★☆), Lyme and Sline, and Meari. First, to distinguish them, I gave new names to the Harpy and Sline born as my daughters.

"From today on, your names are 'Harpyia' and 'Line'."

"Harpyia..."

Kkeureureuk.

The daughters bowed their heads as if to cherish their new names. Lyme stroked Line's hair with her hand, and Harpy was so overwhelmed that she even shed tears.

"Why are you crying?"

"Sob, Master, you gave my daughter a name...! Sob!"

Harpy was happy that I had named her daughter, even though she hadn't received a name herself. But I couldn't just give Harpy a name either. A Harpy is just a Harpy. I decided to keep my mouth shut until I could give her a surprise gift for when she evolved into a Harpy Angel.

Kkeureureuk.

Lyme had become quite mature since becoming a Slahole, and Line was just staring blankly, wondering what she was thinking. Since both were children born from monsters, Meari was the only one I could communicate with properly.

"You're the big sister. Got it?"

"I don't know if Line is a younger brother or a younger sister, though?"

"I've got it all planned out, so don't you worry about that."

I would take care of the evolution conditions for the Slahole myself. What they needed was to level up.

"From today, you five are going to grind the Slime Dungeon. Lyme is the leader. Understand?"

Kkeureureuk.

Lyme, who had become a 3-star after passing level 35, could easily win 1:1 even against a Slime Dragon. I entrusted the leveling in the Slime Dungeon to the five of them.

"Just in case—though it shouldn't happen—if a Slahole appears, run away."

I didn't know how common hidden bosses were, but it would be difficult in many ways to deal with a level 50 entity.

"Then, starting right now?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Yeah. Harpy, you don't give birth for a while either. If the others say anything, tell me."

"They won't say anything. I'm the Harpy with the most seniority in the dungeon, after all."

On the contrary, Harpy was respected by the other Harpies. They said it was because she had given birth to a 2-star Harpy Angel.

'Well, she did pull a 6% gacha, so it's understandable she'd be respected.'

Even I found it respectable. Even if it was someone else's seed.

"Then go. Clear it three times, and Lyme, you hold onto the magic stones and bring them to me first."

Kkeureureuk?

Lyme seemed to be asking this: Didn't you melt all the magic stones to give the slimes experience points?

"Yeah. I'm going to turn them into experience, but I want to collect them first to run some experiments."

Currently, I had no lowest-grade or low-grade magic stones at all, except for one medium-grade stone. I had already melted them all and fed them to the slimes, and I had thought there was no reason to summon magic stones anymore. But a reason had arisen.

"Line."

Kkeureureuk.

"You need to do some experiments for me, too."

Lyme had become a perfect woman by consuming 10 women. Wouldn't Line also undergo a growth equivalent to that?

"Then, I'm counting on you."

Kkeureureuk.

"I'll be back."

"Papa, I'll be back soon~"

The five mother-daughter pairs waved at me and left for the sub-dungeon. The Harpies went with their wings attached, the slimes went while hugging each other, and Meari left alone, walking with short steps while holding her staff.

"......."

I felt a little sorry for Meari. The moment I thought about whether I should go with her—

Kkeureureuk.

Lyme grabbed Meari's hand. Meari also smiled and held Lyme's hand back. It was obvious, but their appearances were too similar.

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while later. While I was drinking Ryun, the five mother-daughter pairs returned safely. Although they didn't all reach level 15, they brought back a considerable amount of magic stones.

'Now I can use these for magic stone summoning.'

To strengthen our power. To be precise, for 'Sline's food.'

Rain was falling steadily. Mud soaked in rain splashed every time they ran, but the horses galloped along the dirt road in the rain.

"Giddyup!"

The woman in the raincoat drove the horse herself, followed by knights wearing light armor. There were only five of them, but they were elite knights who followed the Baron from the barony.

"Halt!"

At the shout of the woman, the Baron, the group stood in front of the destroyed slash-and-burn village, which was overflowing with a grim atmosphere. The man sitting behind Sir Gei at the rear of the knights jumped off, screaming as soon as he saw the state of the village.

"Aaaah! No!"

The man was the hunter who had first informed the castle of the existence of the 'dungeon.' He had gambled his life because his child hadn't returned, but the village was in ruins, and there wasn't a single trace of people.

"Sir Gei."

The Baron asked with a stiff face while being pelted by the rain. "Where are the footprints of the monsters?"

"Th-that is..."

Sir Gei couldn't bring himself to lift his head. While he had returned to the castle, the ground had become muddy and slushy due to the rain that had suddenly fallen from the sky. In other words, the traces of the monsters that had raided the village were being erased, and those traces no longer remained.

"Damn it, you should have turned one person back and chased them."

"Or we should have all gone together to exterminate them and save the people."

The other knights criticized Sir Gei's judgment. Sir Gei had no choice but to lower his head and swallow his anger. Rain. If only it hadn't rained, Sir Gei would have quickly discovered the monsters' tracks and earned the honor of guiding the way himself. But now, far from honor, he was being insulted and disgraced, and Sir Gei had nothing to say for it.

"Sir Gei. Do you remember where the last traces of the monsters were?"

"......This way."

Sir Gei pointed to the bushes that stretched long from the open space of the village. However, there were no footprints there either; they had already been erased.

"......."

The Baron was silent. No matter how much he thought about it, the reason the slash-and-burn village could be this devastated was clearly because monsters had raided it. And combining various assumptions and analyses, it was as if monsters had come directly out of the 'dungeon' and covered the village. He needed information. And he needed to see it with his own eyes.

"......We are withdrawing for now."

"Pardon?"

"We will withdraw, and then we will make a plan. Knights, keep this situation strictly confidential so that the residents of the territory do not become anxious."

The Baron pulled the reins and turned the horse. There was no way to pursue them anymore, and no way to find their tracks. "As soon as the weather clears up, we will search this area thoroughly. Sir Gei!"

"Yes!"

"Do not blame yourself. It is not your fault. If I had to pick one..."

The Baron lifted his head toward the night sky. Thick raindrops flowed down the Baron's cheeks.

"It is the fault of the monsters that have settled in this land."

And the Baron could not tolerate monsters living in his territory.

"We are going to exterminate the 'monsters that were hiding.' Do you understand?"

"Baron, surely...?"

"......We must hide the existence of the dungeon. And."

The Baron took a deep breath and nodded.

"Everything that comes out of the dungeon must become the property of our barony. We can never let the dirty feet of those from the central government touch this land. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

The knights answered the Baron with resolute voices. However, Sir Gei did not answer confidently.

"Yes......."

Sir Gei scanned his surroundings with a weak voice. Although they were mostly erased now, the traces of the monsters he had clearly confirmed during the day were vivid in Sir Gei's eyes.

'If there really is a dungeon.'

Isn't this place no longer safe either? As the darkness deepened, Sir Gei's worries deepened as well.

The rain reached near the dungeon. The humans who had set up huts shivered in the cold and had to spend their time in their respective positions.

"It's cold...."

The temporary huts, not even plastered with mud, let the wind blow through, chilling the humans. If only they could light a fire, but they didn't have any equipment to start one. They didn't have the authority, either. From the moment they survived through intercourse with monsters instead of running away, they had resigned themselves to being slaves. And this was the misery that slaves experienced.

"......Hey, do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something about this."

One female slave sent a venomous look toward Lily. While others were in torn clothes or half-naked, Lily had at least managed to get a robe to wear.

"Is it nice to wear that because you spread your legs for an Orc?"

"Yeah, it's nice."

Lily was shameless. None of the other slaves were on Lily's side, but Lily used the pig Orc inside the cave as a shield to wield power.

"You guys be careful. Do you know what will happen if I go in and say even one word?"

"Hmph, did you get some seed inside?"

It was a humiliating remark, but Lily was silent. The expressions of the other female captives were instantly filled with disgust and shock, and Lily growled with venom.

"...Do you think you're any different? I was just the first. You idiots."

"W-we have to run away...! Monster seeds will be planted!"

"You just have to keep your mouth shut if you've been mounted! But if you get pregnant with a monster, yikes!"

"......If the temple comes out to investigate, they'll find out soon enough."

Joru-nam (the premature ejaculator) opened his mouth soullessly. Unlike Jiru-nam (the long-lasting one), he had ejaculated nearly 8 times just today, and most of that had gone into the Harpy Angels and other Harpies.

"A being that has had intercourse with a monster. You'll surely be burned at the stake."

"So what! We can just hide and live for the rest of our lives! I, I can't stay like this...!"

"With a ghoul out there like that? Didn't you see how they tore people apart?"

Kkeureureuk.

A red ghoul poked its head into the hut for a moment at the commotion. All the captives had been carried to the dungeon on the backs of ghouls, but they still couldn't help the physiological disgust.

"W-wait a minute. Please... let us meet the master of the dungeon."

Kkeureuk?

Lily called out to the red-skinned ghoul, Harsus. Harsus turned and bowed his body, and Lily swallowed hard and pleaded with Harsus.

"Please. If we stay like this, everyone will freeze to death."

Kkeureureuk.

Harsus shook his head firmly. He was a monster, but he was a being with whom he could clearly communicate, and Lily dropped her head and bit her lip.

"Tsk, idiot. You became a monster's seed-receiver and lost your mind, didn't you?"

"She's gone crazy, completely crazy, ugh! Ah... it's cold."

The humans were suffering from the cold, and Harsus watched them for a while before rising. Lily was silent, and they had just wasted their energy and had to shiver in the cold again.

Thump, thump.

Heavy footsteps echoed around the hut. Rough breathing could also be heard.

Thump.

Heavy footsteps, different from the ghouls', stopped in front of the hut.

"Are you cold?"

There was a green monster there.

I suddenly felt incredibly sorry for the humans. Even after experiencing a winter training session a month before being discharged due to bad luck with my military service number, I had never thought they would be shivering in the cold at night in a situation where no facilities were properly equipped.

The inside of the dungeon was warm. Perhaps because of the characteristic that the cave continued in a long circle, the temperature inside was kept constant. In particular, the area around the bedroom was so warm that it was enough to sleep naked. That's why neither Ryun nor I wore clothes in the bedroom. Now, Eila was included too.

'But if I bring them in, the capacity will be exceeded again.'

If I take them as subordinates, the capacity is definitely exceeded. But taking them as captives was also reluctant. The system for releasing a being that had once been a captive was one of two things: 'Kill them or make them subordinates.'

The opportunistic system of putting them in prison only at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠night and letting them out to work outside during the day didn't exist. But it was quite uncomfortable if they died of hypothermia while it was raining like this.

"......Damn it."

There's not much to do at night, so it can't be helped. Still, it was better to use even a little bit of labor outside the capacity than to have the ghouls clean up human corpses when I woke up in the morning.

"For now, sleep in the cave today."

It was a clear capacity overflow, but it couldn't be helped.

'I'll just have to deal with my body being a bit heavy.'

As soon as my words fell, the humans rose from their seats. They followed me hesitantly, and Lily was walking alongside me, secretly trying to read my expression. I pointed the humans out to Harsus and the ghouls.

"Catch them and take them there, you know? Where the barracks were broken today. Put them in there."

Kkeureureuk.

The ghouls grabbed the humans one by one and entered the dungeon. As soon as they entered one by one, the dungeon's capacity was exceeded, and everyone's movements began to slow down.

"Tsk."

I need to increase the dungeon capacity quickly. To do that, there is no other way but to increase the dungeon's grade itself.

"......?"

What, why did the danger level go up? I searched for the reason why the danger level would go up by 30 compared to before, and I soon found the reason.

"Luna."

I had defeated Luna, who had a higher grade and level than me, with my clone.

"......."

Next time I meet her, I'll make sure she takes a shower in white honey from her face to her abdomen. I expressed my gratitude to the Elf Forest as if I were bowing to it, then dragged my heavy body to the bed and flopped down.

Snooze, snooze.

Ryun and Eila were sleeping in my bed. Both looked quite exhausted, suffering as if they were having nightmares.

'Are they unable to sleep properly because of the fatigue from the capacity overflow?'

This won't do. I decided that from tomorrow, I would definitely make them sleep outside, and I laid my body on the bed without waking them up.