Chapter 69

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 69

Chapter Title: Elf Half-Breed?

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A new family member had joined the dungeon. Ten elves and one pampered little princess.

"Have a safe trip."

"Yes, Master."

And in exchange, we'd sent one of Erzsebet's kin from our dungeon over to the elves' dungeon.

Erzsebet had explained that while it was still tough to communicate in real-time with all her kin, she had a spell that let her designate one or two for remote contact no matter the distance.

"This is where you'll be living from now on."

"Ooh... A forest brimming with nature's energy like this."

"Wow! A massive tree! It's a sacred tree!"

-Thud thud thud!

"...And your first task is to make sure your princess doesn't do anything reckless."

"...Yes."

The moment they entered the garden, Lil bolted straight toward the enormous tree in the distance—Dryad's main body—and the elves, myself included, all let out a collective sigh.

Her abilities were certainly impressive; I'd just confirmed that. But had I made a mistake bringing a woman this impulsive into the ruins just because her skills tempted me?

"Kyaaah!!"

As we sighed, sure enough, Dryad flung her again, and Lil came plummeting from the sky with a scream.

Even so, her physical specs were top-notch; she brushed off the dirt and stood up perfectly fine. I beckoned her over.

"What is it, Daddy?"

"...Daddy?"

"Hehe... You're the sacred tree's daddy, after all..."

After correcting her dizzying nickname with as much patience as I could muster—insisting she call me Master properly—I opened the [Employee Management] window.

'I've got plenty of points to spare now, so I can hire one or two more as [Employees].'

There was one open slot in the hir-able [Employees] section, and I'd been planning to slot in Lilith there. But with the new arrival, I decided to hold off on Lilith as originally planned and register Lil instead.

'She can earn points doing other tasks, and if push comes to shove, I can always use [Quick Movement] to subdue her...'

She'd essentially come as a hostage, and Dryad or Erzsebet's power would be enough to handle her. But since she wasn't bound like a kin with special powers, didn't I need a way to subdue her with my own strength if things went south?

She'd thanked me for the sacred tree and sworn loyalty, but I had no intention of blindly trusting their words so purely.

'If all this is an act and I spot any hint of betrayal, I'll [Quick Movement] her straight into the grinder.'

"Why are you staring like that? Kyaa! Even Daddy thinks I'm pretty..."

...If that's acting, she deserves an award for it.

Anyway, I now had a historic pile of points. I'd scrapped all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the gear and holy relics from the heroes I'd taken down, especially that Fallen one... Urk. For some reason, turning it into that had netted a massive haul. Plus, I had heaps of materials from [Disassembly].

'Register.'

'Lil's a 4-star? No clue what the grading criteria even is.'

It was a bit plain compared to the other 5-star employees' descriptions. No abilities like 'alter cleaning tool effects' that the 5-stars or Rio had, nor talents for removing salaries or discounting shop items.

Still, it had exactly the ability I wanted.

"Can register elves as subordinate employees... Perfect."

Having heard that regular elves serve high elves, I'd figured registering Lil would come with something like this. Spot on. Now I could assign tasks to the other elves without losing points.

...Though her [Disposition] is a bit iffy, it's about what I expected.

"Master. Could you please give us the chance to tend this forest?"

After registering Lil as an [Employee], the elves—who'd been tearing up at the sight of Dryad's garden—approached with confident faces, demanding the opportunity to tend the forest... er, garden.

"Tend the forest?"

"Yes. We are the forest folk. No one can match our skill in forest maintenance."

Seeing their subtle pride in their race, I decided to watch and see what they could do first.

"Give it a shot. I'll watch and decide whether to assign you."

"Yes!"

Dryad's power had cleaned the garden immensely, but it was so vast it could pass for a full forest, so it still wasn't perfectly cleaned.

But seeing how confident the elves were... maybe I should just leave garden cleaning and maintenance to them entirely?

"Then we'll show you our skills."

True to what I'd told Jin, the elves had real talent for forest maintenance.

The environment inside their lifelong home, the dungeon called 'Cradle of the Forest,' was a forest too. Having lived over a century in such a place, they excelled at exterminating pests that ravaged the woods, removing weeds that sucked the life from trees, clearing protruding rocks, and more...

They were a top-tier race in all those tasks. That was the elves for you.

'A forest this well-maintained...'

Even to these elves, this forest was exceptionally well-kept. Were there other elves here besides them? No explanation for such pristine work otherwise...

'The dryad's blessing, perhaps?'

They sensed the faint dryad life force permeating the entire beautiful forest and figured the dryad had tended it herself.

And their purpose in staying in the dungeon was to assist the dryad. Of course, they had to serve her apparent master, that dungeon master Jin too... But due to their racial instincts, they couldn't help prioritizing the dryad over the dungeon master, even if they understood otherwise rationally.

That's why, seeing the forest not fully tidied, they stepped up to lighten the dryad's load.

"We've spent our lives tending forests."

Seeing it as a great chance to show their new dungeon master their skills proudly, the elves plunged into the forest en masse.

"Hup!"

"Ha!"

Tending a forest might sound simple, but it demands immense stamina and skill.

Discernment to distinguish harmful weeds. Delicate handiwork to prune weeds and unnecessary branches without damaging soil or trees. Sturdy physique to move rocks impeding tree growth...

Elves possessed all these abilities and moved in perfect unison, swiftly entering uncleared sections of the forest right before Eugene's eyes. They pruned branches, pulled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weeds, and tidied up.

"How's that?"

In just about 30 minutes, they'd cleared a substantial area and looked at their new master with proud expressions. With a forest built inside the dungeon and the dryad's favor, surely the new owner loved forests too.

Seeing the neatly organized woods, he had no choice but to acknowledge their skill...

"...Slow."

But the words from their new master's mouth dashed their expectations. His voice dripped with disappointment, like someone who'd built up huge hopes only to be let down by the result.

"S-Slow? What do you...?"

The elves panicked in unison. Overjoyed at meeting the legendary dryad, they'd poured over 100% into their work today.

Under the dryad's influence, the plants were tougher than normal, yet they'd uprooted them and sliced steel-hard branches effortlessly—without a single nick on the trees—and he called it slow?

'Trying to humble us, is he?'

They figured their new master was just nitpicking. Feeling a twinge of injustice but yielding humbly, they bowed apologetically.

They had no intention of defying the dungeon's owner—and the dryad's owner.

"Come here."

"...???"

But when the dungeon master stepped past them, as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if to demonstrate himself, they grew flustered. Was the dungeon master going to tend the forest personally?

And when they saw what Eugene pulled out, they were horrified.

'Th-That!'

Pruning shears. Electric hedge trimmers, no less. Seeing Eugene approach the trees with the razor-sharp blades gleaming, the elves stomped anxiously.

'Using blades like that will scar the trees for sure!'

Of course, only elves would fret over tree scratches. To elves who draw 'vitality' from trees, they're sacred. Naturally, the dungeon master wouldn't care about such things.

'Ugh... The trees...!'

Unable to stomach the brutal scene about to unfold, they squeezed their eyes shut. Imagining those merciless blades harming the sacred trees.

-Snip!!

A chilling slicing sound reached their ears as they squeezed their eyes shut.

'Ugh... I had such high hopes for the dryad's master...'

To think the dryad's own master would treat trees so roughly. Maybe staying in this dungeon was the wrong choice...

"I figured you'd at least hit this speed... Tsk. Expected too much? Might have to lend you some [Pruning Shears] later..."

"Uh... Huh...?"

But when they tremblingly opened their eyelids, the scene was beyond their wildest expectations.

The slicing sound had rung out just once, yet every single branch in a radius that looked to span dozens of meters had been neatly trimmed. And not a single scratch marred the trees' trunks where branches had been severed.

As if he'd mastered the ultimate forest-tending technique they'd only dreamed of...

"C-Could you be... an elf half-breed, sir?"

"No."

They blurted it out despite knowing it was rude, even asking the dungeon master's race. They'd vowed not to point out their new master's flaws by mentioning any half-breed heritage, but the shock shattered that resolve in an instant.

"Ooh...! As expected of the dryad's master...!"

Regaining their senses, they prostrated themselves before their master in awe.

'...What's with these guys?'

Seeing the elves suddenly make a huge fuss and bow deeply, Eugene wondered if there were no normal ones among them.