The Timid Landlord
The main exploration team didn't include the Necro Puppeteer. Without mind control to speed things up, Madam Rabbit—harboring clear hostility toward me—resisted the red spot's discoloration right away, just as expected. For that reason, I decided to give the team a break until she was tamed.
"Kids, enjoy a nice soak until Madam Rabbit's tamed."
Iris whipped her tentacles first and plunged into the tub.
Azeras and Niara casually stripped off their tops without hesitation. Their chests were exposed, but it wasn't a big deal. I was used to the sight by now, and I wandered around shirtless most of the time anyway. For the record, they kept their bottoms on.
"It's not like this is the first time. Why the fuss now?"
Azeras and Niara slipped into the tub. Hedgehog and Abyss Lord followed, shaking their hips as they entered the water.
Even after soaking, the two kept wiggling their hips.
While the team relaxed, Merino approached.
"Gauntlet-yang, eat this-yang. It's a snack I made mixing Medical Angel-yang's jelly with my saliva-yang."
"Thanks." I popped the snack Merino made into my mouth and checked on Madam Rabbit through Iris's constant feed. She was still kneeling in place. The taming progress showed the discoloration advancing faster than I'd thought.
"Surprising."
"Even forcing the tame on Madam Rabbit right now, the spot's discoloring at a decent clip."
At this pace, she'd be tamed in roughly an hour.
And once our superiority was clear, I'd keep doing this without hesitation. Mind control too, no qualms. But only if they weren't friendly toward us. No need for consideration with non-tamed foes. Plenty after taming. Any grudges would vanish then anyway.
The red spot has fully turned green.
Madam Rabbit perked up her ears. Her long tail coiled into a short, round bunny tail like we all knew.
Her face stayed expressionless, but her body's reactions suggested she wasn't feeling too bad. Still, even tamed, she didn't seem thrilled with her new name.
"What, don't like it?"
"......"
I'd already logged "Madam Rabbit" in the monster compendium. Could change it, but reopening it was a hassle.
"It's unfamiliar, so it feels off. You'll get used to it. Stick with it. And it suits you better than Lady Luna anyway."
Luckily, a little sweet talk worked. She stopped complaining and accepted the name.
After she accepted the name, I got straight to it and asked her again to guide us to the landlord.
She let out a small sigh.
"Can't?"
Was this request still off-limits? As I wondered, she bowed her head and muttered.
Madam Rabbit lifted her head, face set like she'd decided.
Thankfully, no refusal this time.
"Hm? What promise?"
"Ah, don't worry. We're going to tame the landlord. No intent to hurt."
"I'll try."
She kept begging no aggression. Seemed the landlord was weak-bodied like Hedgehog.
She snapped her fingers. A dazzling elevator descended from above.
Madam Rabbit boarded first. Iris followed, then the rest of the team one by one. Snake Head and Mummy Skeleton tried naturally too, but...
She held out her palm, firmly blocking them.
With that, the doors slammed shut mercilessly.
The elevator shot up, leaving Snake Head and Mummy Skeleton behind.
The doors opened to a massive room. Cushions and dolls of all sizes. Toys of every shape. It felt like a kid's nursery.
She stepped out, leading us, then stopped and pointed.
In the direction she pointed, a green baby dinosaur sat butt planted on the floor, sneaking sidelong glances at us.