Day 69 of the Pouring Cat Labyrinth

Centaurides... no, Art Pega Unicorn had temporarily left the shelter. She said she'd go show off her evolved form to her big brothers and come back.

She didn't go alone. Zapan and Merino Ulla said they wanted to go on a picnic, so I sent them off together. Of course, for safety, I assigned three escorts: Black Magma Slime, Azeras, and Blood Jellyfish Princess. Plus Iris too.

It wasn't overprotective. This was just the right level of protection for the fragile Merino.

While chatting with the jo-ryeokja, I was installing doors at each passage entrance. This was also for Merino Ulla's safety. Unlike the other monsters, Merino had a body that was too fragile.

There hadn't been any monster attacks while we slept so far, but I couldn't afford to be complacent assuming this peace would last forever.

"Good work."

There were eight passages in total. For each one, I first installed a door made of Kinogine Arachne's thread. It was a door only allies recognized by the Arachne could pass through.

And beyond the thread door, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I manually installed the high-tech doors Omega had provided last night.

This made our shelter even safer.

"I'll move out eventually anyway, but it's still right to set up this level of security."

"No specific place yet. Just feels too cramped here now, so when I find somewhere spacious and safe, I'll shift headquarters then."

Even if we moved, I had no intention of abandoning this base. Labyrinth exploration would always center here. Leave the warp device as is and use it as a pre-exploration staging area.

Anyway, with the doors all installed, it was time to head to the desert village. Omega had stopped by this morning and said construction would wrap up today.

Niara Nephensis thoughtfully activated the warp device. We crossed the portal to the desert village.

Construction finished even faster ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than planned. The desert village was complete in under ten days.

We ascended into the sky with Omega. No need for levitation magic or anything. The Solorb up there had cleverly lightened all our bodies like feathers.

I thanked him, of course.

"Solorb, thanks."

Floating in the sky like that, we took in the completed desert village at a glance, savoring it slowly.

From high above, the desert village looked like a massive mandala pattern. Centered on the oasis, it spread out in three concentric rings. Each ring had its own unique features.

The innermost ring, where my severed arm was placed. There, modified crystal orb houses gleamed brilliantly. Next to them, the towering Tower of Life endlessly poured out pure water, channeling it through underground conduits to the entire village.

The middle ring housed dense clusters of residential buildings made from the trees where Poison Apples once lived. Narrow, winding streets created shade for a cool atmosphere, while fountains and rest areas scattered throughout extended the oasis's refreshing vibe across the village.

The outermost ring held the commercial district, small industrial facilities, and buildings like Omega's factory.

Those shiny devices on the rooftops must be what Omega mentioned.

Every building had sparkling devices attached. They converted desert sand into energy. The barrier system seemed complete too—I could feel the transparent shield enveloping the whole village.

"...Beyond expectations."

Seeing the finished village in person drew involuntary admiration. Like a giant flower blooming in the heart of the desert. A perfect harmony of cutting-edge tech and nature, standing tall as the new oasis in the labyrinth's desert.

"Not a fan of deserts."

"Current place is safe enough too. Just added the double security."

Unless an SSS-grade invaded, our current home was just as secure as here. If an SSS-grade came with malice, Solorb nearby or not, we'd be dead in seconds anyway as decoys.

In other words, safety-wise, desert village or shelter—about the same.

"Anyway, let's head down."

We descended back to the ground. Then gathered the village residents in the plaza.

The village was complete, but plenty of work remained. Residents needed assigned homes. Interiors needed furnishing too.

Oh, and we needed more villagers. Too few for the village size right now.

Current residents: Village manager, Pharaoh Devil. Sub-managers, Anubis Dragon and Giant Caterpillar. Snake Head. Mummy Skeleton. Lionheart. 220 Cat Crabs. Puppets, Dune Striders. Sand Ravens.

I'd tamed five more Sand Ravens recently, so now six total.

By the way, among the six Sand Ravens, only the first one I tamed couldn't fly properly. Seemed like the dim one.

I kept the dumb Sand Raven by my side and called the others.

"You late joiners, come forward."

"This Raven next to me is a bit dumb, okay? Don't ignore or bully it. Get along, got it?"

Anyway, increasing villagers was simple. Bring some cats from Solorb's inner world.

I'd already talked it over with Solorb. He had one condition, but it was simple: Place lots of Irises throughout the village.

Reason was straightforward. Cats out in the outside world couldn't watch me via Bastet anymore, so station Irises to broadcast my image so they wouldn't get bored. Keep watching me continuously.

So last night, I tamed fifteen more Irises. Our Irises used kin-tracking to find clusters living in groups.

Unlike the others, these were highly wary and hostile, but Necro Puppeteer's mind control made taming easy.

Anyway, time for new residents.

"Solorb, got the migrating cats selected?"

"Yeah. Send 'em right away."

Shortly after Solorb's voice faded.

From that high sky, countless cats began pouring down.