Chapter 9

"Wow. A healing spring, huh? ...So it's about luring the girls who have been hurt and defeated back to the depths of the dungeon again. As expected, Master, you think differently."

Petachan says such a troublesome thing.

What is she talking about? It's a terrible thing to say. I prepared the healing spring for the girls who were lamenting the scars on their faces...

Well... In the end, the result is the same.

"Come again."

"Next time, go deeper... Hehehe."

It's true that the situation has become like that, so there's nothing I can do.

It's a matter of life, isn't it? Maybe it would have been better to leave them alone for their sake...?

Only the girls living in this world can answer that question.

The value of life and the value of pride and face differ so much depending on the era and civilization.

"...Hey, Petachan. Can't the dungeon monsters be eliminated?"

In the first place, I never intended to place monsters to kill adventurers. They just appear on their own for some reason.

"It's impossible. They are the physical manifestations of the stagnation and distortion of the dungeon's miasma.

And that stagnation is caused by the strain of creating miracles to fulfill desires with the miasma.

Monsters will continue to appear somewhere as long as the dungeon isn't just a cave with no hot springs or gems."

"Hmm... I think it would be nice if a lot of people could stay for a long time in a harmless and safe hot spring dungeon, just for a vacation... Is that impossible?"

"Basically, Master, even the way you watch the adventurers through the images is a manifestation of desire, right?

Well, we, the core and Master, often manifest as distorted bosses in the layers."

What do you mean?

...Well, it's true that there was a boss monster I didn't place in the 5th layer.

So that's how it works, huh? There's nothing I can do about it.

"But... The dungeon points gained from the blood spilled in battles, the corpses, and their possessions are on a completely different scale, you know?

Even if there was a way to eliminate the danger, I think it would be better not to do so."

Hmm... For Petachan, humans are just creatures that bring points to the dungeon, nothing more and nothing less.

From the 6th to 7th layers, deaths started to occur regularly, so it's quite... mentally tough.

However, the structure of this dungeon, where excessive personnel enter in the form of bodyguards, is its greatest feature.

If the dungeon were made completely safe, the number of bodyguards would drastically decrease, and the revenue would also drastically decrease.

It's a difficult issue.

My current body is no longer human but a magical creature that thinks as part of the dungeon.

Compared to when I was human, my heart doesn't move as much at the sight of death and suffering.

It's not that it's emotionally painful, but based on my past experiences and memories, it just feels like, "I don't want to deal with it."

I am no longer human but a mysterious magical creature that thinks as part of the dungeon.

Come to think of it, I haven't done anything since becoming the Master...

Even though I'm in an environment where I can see the naked bodies of the beautiful female knights every day, they are getting more and more beautiful.

When I see the beautiful naked bodies of beautiful knights, I should feel grateful!

There must still be some human heart left in me...

Well, it's impossible to do anything with Petachan always watching me.

Since becoming the Master, I haven't eaten at all.

Sleep isn't necessary, but I do it sometimes.

The dungeon's sleep is more like shutting down consciousness to skip time.

When I said it was boring to wait 22 hours for the dungeon's construction, Petachan told me, "Just shut down your consciousness during that time."

When I actually tried it, the 22 hours passed in an instant.

It felt more like the time had flown by rather than sleeping.

Using points to complete the dungeon construction and then skipping a few days to see the results is the lifestyle of a dungeon.

For the 8th layer, the construction time was 79 hours, so I naturally skipped that time.

People kept coming non-stop even while I was skipping time, and hundreds of thousands of dungeon points have accumulated, enough to build the 9th layer at any time.

Well... I'm not going to build it yet.

It would be too much to expand the dungeon too quickly; it would be too hard on the explorers.

Instead, I might add or expand the popular baths on the 1st and 2nd layers.

"Expanding the dungeon at a breakneck pace... Hey... Master, how about building the 9th layer...? We have enough points... How about it? Master?"

For some reason, Petachan, with a very hopeful look, clung to my arm with a pleading gaze and a wagging little tail, asking for the expansion of the dungeon.

"No... It's fine for now, the 8th layer was just built, right?"

She looked extremely shocked.

What's going on...

For her, this is the moment to finally break free from the long-stagnant 8th layer dungeon.

Building the 9th layer is her long-held wish.

To be told, "It's fine for now..." is quite a blow to her as a dungeon core.

"I'm done! I don't care! I'm going to shut down my consciousness for a while! Bye-bye!"

Saying that, she pouted and suddenly became a lifeless doll, stopping all movement.

"What's going on..."

Seeing her suddenly throw a tantrum and stop, I thought about playing a prank on her.

I heard that touching the core as the Master can wake it up.

(Conversely, the core can also wake up the Master.)

Feeling a rare sense of loneliness with the small animal-like girl, who was always watching my work with interest, now completely unconscious.

"Ah... This is the first time I've been alone since coming here? There doesn't seem to be anything to do for a while... Maybe I'll shut down my consciousness for a few days."

I idly watched the many female knights bathing and thought about it.

Then I suddenly thought of something.

...It's good that I haven't done it, but...

It's not that it doesn't work, right?

Originally, I was seriously ill in the real world.

I had been living a life far removed from such things for a long time, so I hadn't thought about it deeply.

It's not that I don't get aroused because I became the Master.

Actually, could it be that my body has completely stopped functioning?

When I thought about it, I became terribly afraid and, half-mad, pulled down my pants and stared intently at the naked body on the monitor and did it.

Yes... I could do it normally.

After doing it, I became anxious that Petachan might wake up and see me, so I cautiously looked behind me.

Fortunately, she was still a lifeless doll.